EDITORIAL: Heed call for examination of bail reform law - The Daily Gazette

In the wake of a recent rise in violent crime, New York City’s mayor-elect, Eric Adams, wants the state Legislature to re-examine New York’s bail reform law.

We get letters every couple of weeks from the same people urging us to tell the truth about the impacts of the law.

We agree with both. We need a review and we need the truth.

The reason for the law was that too many poor people and minorities accused of non-violent crimes were being held in jail cells for extraordinary periods because of their inability to afford even very low bail.

Cash bail favors those criminals who can afford to pay their way out of jail while they await their trials, while those too poor to post bail sit in a cell, often forcing them to lose their jobs and housing and disrupting their families.

Supporters estimated that eliminating cash bail could reduce jail populations by 40%, saving taxpayers loads of money on incarceration costs and leveling the playing field between the haves and have-nots.

While the goal is noble and sound, there have been examples in which people accused of non-violent crimes have been released, only to commit a similar crime or one more violent than the original charge.

Those examples have compelled opportunistic politicians and political candidates preying on citizens’ fears to call for the entire law to be repealed.

There are legitimate questions on both sides of the issue.

What this controversial and misunderstood law needs is a thorough statewide hearing and review to clear up the misconceptions and give the public an accurate picture of its benefits and shortcomings.

Lawmakers need to ask whether it’s really helping the people it was intended to a measurable degree. They need to ask whether violent individuals are indeed being released without bail to commit new crimes, and whether the law has contributed to an increase.

Is the law responsible for a crime spree involving criminals that normally would be held in jail until their trials, as some politicians have claimed? Or are those highly publicized cases the rare exception?

Lawmakers and the public need to hear from prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, crime-victim advocates, probation departments and others in the system about their actual experiences with the law.

Then they need to look at solutions.

Do judges, as some claim, need more authority and discretion to hold dangerous or violent criminals?

Is the law too broad in the types of crimes eligible for no bail? Some non-violent crimes actually involve some degree of violence, like hate crimes and domestic abuse.

Let’s settle the debate over this law once and for all. Valid criminal justice reform? Or progressive boondoggle?

When they return to Albany in January, lawmakers need to heed the call for a review, and let the facts speak for themselves.

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Categories: Editorial, Opinion

source: https://dailygazette.com/2021/11/09/editorial-heed-call-for-examination-of-bail-reform-law/

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