Republicans in the New York State Senate say changes to the parole system proposed by Democrats forget about the victims of violent felony offenses.
State Senate Republican Minority Leader John Flanagan of Smithtown unveiled the party’s “Victims' Justice Agenda” last week.
“What the Democrats are bringing forth to the public is the ‘Criminals' Bill of Rights.’ Whether it is bail reform or changing sentencing, it is the ‘Criminals' Bill of Rights.’ There is no focus on the victim. There is no focus on law enforcement. There is no focus on district attorneys and the tools they need to protect our citizens. If we are going to look at the scales of justice, we are going to look at it first on behalf of the victims and second on behalf of the perpetrators of those crimes. They have it all backwards in the Democratic Party.”
Flanagan wants to include measures that would increase the required time for parole reconsideration for violent felony offenders. He would raise it from 24 to 60 months.
Flanagan also wants to protect the identity of victims who comment during parole hearings.
