Assemblyman Peter Lawrence (R,C,I-Greece) and Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) joined over 250 law enforcement officials, district attorneys from around the state and members of the Assembly Republican Conference February 4 at a rally in Albany. The rally was calling for a full repeal of the bail reform measures passed last year. As of right now there is no movement of legislation in either house of the Legislature to repeal the bail changes.
“Seemingly each day we have individuals who are arrested on violent crimes being released into society only to be arrested again after committing more heinous crimes, and that is appalling,” Hawley said. “We are only about six weeks into new bail laws taking effect and the consequences have been frightening to say the least.”
“I am not sure what the governor and state Democrats were thinking when they passed this legislation; it panders to criminals, while neglecting victims and their families,” said Lawrence. “Crime victims and their loved ones should not be afterthoughts, and the way the cash bail was implemented last year, they are. We are calling on the governor and Democrat majorities to fully repeal the bail changes and let’s do it right this time. We need to hold public hearings and vote on a bill that addresses the issues and does so in a manner that keeps our communities safe.”
The Assembly Minority Conference is pushing Assembly Bill 8855, which calls for a full repeal of bail reform.
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