Less is more leads to releases, anger from law enforcement officials - Yahoo! Voices

Oct. 2—It was Friday afternoon, Sept. 24, when Niagara County Sheriff Michael Filicetti heard a commotion outside his office.

As the sheriff looked out his window to check on what seemed to be a disturbance, he saw seven men who had been inmates at the county jail marching down the sidewalk.

"The were cheering and chanting, 'Less is more. Less is more. Less is more.', as they walked away from the jail," Fillicetti said. "It was one of the most discouraging days in my 28 years in law enforcement."

The seven had just had parole detainers on them lifted under the terms of New York's Less is More Act. The new law, signed on Sept, 17 by Gov. Kathy Hochul, is intended to prevent recently paroled prisoners from being incarcerated for what have been described as technical violations of their terms of release, like missing a curfew.

Supporters of the act have argued that the new law will decrease the number of people in jail for minor parole violations and prevent overcrowding in prisons.

But Filicetti, and Niagara County District Attorney Brian Seaman, said that while the law will reduce overcrowding at facilities like Rickers Island in New York City, it is having perhaps unintended consequences in other communities across the state. They said virtually all of the seven Niagara County jail inmates that were released from custody were not being detained for "minor violations."

In the case of Damien Powell, the Falls parolee was detained after his arrest in a domestic violence case. He faces a charge of criminal obstruction of breathing.

"Where are the rights of the domestic violence victims?" Filicetti asked. "I don't think (a) domestic violence (arrest) is a minor violation."

After his parole detainer was lifted under the Less is More Act, Powell posted $10 bail to process his release.

Prior to the new law taking effect, it was a common practice for parolees, who were arrested on new criminal charges while out on release, to be detained for violating the terms of their parole. A standard condition of parole release is that the parolee not commit any new crimes.

source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/less-more-leads-releases-anger-111900402.html

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