Assemblyman Ra joins fight to repeal bail reform

The Island Now

State Assemblyman Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square) joined with local and state officials, law enforcement leaders, prosecutors and law enforcement in advocating change for the newly-implemented bail reform laws.

“Enough is enough,” Ra said. “Every single day, we’re seeing good people get hurt because dangerous, serial offenders can simply walk out of their arraignment and back into our communities.”

A handful of prominent Nassau County officials have already advocated for further reform in the statewide laws that eliminated pretrial detention and optional cash bail in an estimated 90 percent of cases.

According to county officials, more than 175 people accused of misdemeanors and “nonviolent felonies” were released without bail as they await trial.

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran has distinguished which people the bail reform laws should target, and attempted to dispell misconceptions regarding the need for further change.

“Nationwide, Americans have reached a bipartisan consensus that we must fix a criminal justice system that has too often tilted unequally against people of color and those with fewer resources,” Curran wrote in an op-ed piece to the Daily News last month. “We can and we must build on this consensus with smart reforms that make the justice system more equitable, save taxpayers money and build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.”

While the need for a fair and unbiased shift is imperative according to Curran, Ra addressed the other side of the argument, which includes testimonies of those who have taken advantage of the new laws.

“Some of the stories we’re hearing are absolutely sickening. Criminals who have committed homicides, sex crimes, and assaulted police officers have been let out. When they re-offend, the harm they cause is even more tragic because it was preventable,” Ra said.

In the North Shore specifically, Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder mentioned the arrests of three Chileans who allegedly burglarized homes throughout areas such as Great Neck, Saddle Rock, and Hewlett.

Ryder said that the new bail reform laws allowed two other members of the alleged Chilean crew to flee the country and not appear for their schedule prosecution.

“Those two individuals were supposed to report to [get] their ankle bracelets; they did not,” Ryder said. “They were supposed to show up in court a week later; they did not show. Those two individuals as we said before are probably back on a beach in Chile right now, watching this and having a good laugh.”

Ra touted the work of the law enforcement officials throughout the state despite the new laws impeding on their day-to-day work.

“This shows you that these brave men and women truly care about their communities,” Ra said. “They want to do their job. In Albany, we should be supporting them. We should be making their lives easier. We need to reverse course immediately.”

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