ALBANY – Police chiefs, district attorneys and Republican state lawmakers rallied in Albany on Tuesday calling for either an end to the recently enacted criminal justice reforms or at least, modifications to them.
Perhaps the biggest concern among the attendees is the bail reform, which calls for the release of people charged with a wide variety of crimes without bail.
Orange County DA David Hoovler, president of the State District Attorneys Association, told the rally that the reforms do not need to be tossed altogether.
“It needs some reasonable fixes; it needs some reasonable tweaks. Some people want repeal. I’m more about just getting the reasonable fixes to it and moving forward, but you just can’t have all categories of offenses like manslaughter in the second degree. If you kill somebody, you should be able to seek bail,” Hoovler said.
The DA also said that the reforms are not only a slap in the face to police and prosecutors who were not consulted about them, but to judges who preside over cases, decide guilt or innocence in many cases, and mete out sentences, but are not allowed to set bail for certain crimes.
Senator Sue Serino sided with Hoovler and the others at the rally saying “The voices of those who keep our communities safe have been shut out of this process since day one. While we can all agree that no one should be jailed simply because of an inability to pay bail, in the rush to reform, Albany ignored the voices of those who serve and protect and jeopardized public safety in the process. Enough is enough, it’s time for Albany to hear the voices of those here today, repeal these dangerous measures, and go back to the drawing board.
