Bail reform flares as issue in L.I. race

Bail has become a flashpoint in the Nassau County district attorney’s race as Democrats accuse Republican rivals of inaccurately describing justice reforms.

Democrats say Anne Donnelly, the GOP candidate vying to become the county’s top prosecutor, has repeatedly mischaracterized recently

Dem-led changes to New York’s bail laws in interviews and social media posts.

“Donnelly is either lying to mislead voters or she doesn’t know simple facts,” said Nassau County Democrats chairman Jay Jacobs. “Under Anne Donnelly, Nassau is going to lose cases and release more criminals onto the street when she gets the basics of criminal law wrong.”

Donnelly, a prosecuting attorney who has worked in the Nassau County district attorney’s office for more than three decades, is squaring off against Democratic Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D-Nassau) after former Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas became a New York State Court of Appeals judge in June.

The Republican candidate’s Facebook page contains numerous posts about bail reforms enacted by the Democrat-led state Legislature, including false claims that people accused of criminally negligent homicide and manslaughter “are released.”

“Gunshots up 39% in Nassau,” she posted on Facebook earlier this week. “Felons freed by Senator Todd Kaminsky’s bail reform (a total failure) are part of the problem.”

The Legislature approved sweeping changes to New York’s bail laws in 2019, limiting pre-trial detention for most non-violent crimes. The overhauls were amended last year to make more offenses bail-eligible.