New Hampshire House rejects latest attempt to change bail reform law - WMUR Manchester

CONCORD, N.H. —

Attempts to make changes to New Hampshire's bail reform law hit another dead end Wednesday.

The House voted to sideline legislation attempting to address issues law enforcement officials have raised about the release of violent and dangerous offenders.

The bail reform law that passed in 2018 made it easier for criminal defendants to be released pretrial. The House on Wednesday rejected proposed Senate legislation that supporters said would curb the release of dangerous offenders.

"This bill disregards the phrase 'innocent until proven guilty' and will hold thousands of Granite Staters in jail before their trial, many of them for crimes that do not carry jail time," said state Rep. John Burt, R-Goffstown.

Senate Bill 294 would require a judge to determine pre-trial release for offenders charged with crimes such as homicide, assault and distribution of child sex abuse images.

"This bill would not repeal bail reform," said state Rep. Daryl Abbas, R-Salem. "It is narrowly applied to a single section of bail reform."

After the tabling of the bill, the ACLU of New Hampshire slammed police officers who came to the Legislature asking for changes to the bail law.

"For months, law enforcement from across the state have testified at the State House that New Hampshire's bail reform laws were making communities less safe – but that couldn't be further from the truth," said Frank Knaack, of the ACLU.

Members of law enforcement rejected the ACLU's contention that they are misrepresenting the impact of bail reform on public safety.

The issue is not completely dead this session, as the Senate approved an almost identical bill last week.

source: https://www.wmur.com/article/new-hampshire-house-bail-reform-law-5422/39909093

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