New York lawmakers approved a $177 billion state budget on Thursday, two days after the deadline. One area of contention was making changes to the state’s bail reform laws. In the end, they compromised.
On January 1, New York eliminated most forms of cash bail for nonviolent crimes. There was a backlash, as prosecutors and police said too many repeat offenders were being let back out onto the streets, and that as a result crime was on the rise.
Governor Andrew Cuomo and some Democrats sought to empower judges to hold more defendants pretrial if the judge believed the accused might present a danger to society. Pro bail reform advocates objected, saying too many judges would unnecessarily send people to jail, defeating the purpose of the bail reforms.
In the end Cuomo and the legislature dropped that provision, but they added a number of new crimes that will be re eligible for bail. They include burglary in the second degree, promoting child pornography, and vehicular manslaughter, a crime associated with drunk driving fatalities.
Cuomo says it was a necessary refinement of the bail laws.
“The bail reform that we did last year I’m very proud of,” Cuomo said. “And I think we made the right change now.”
Supporters of bail reform are split on the new law. The advocacy group VOCAL-NY called it a “significant step backwards.” The group’s Nick Encalada-Malinowski says it will “likely lead to increases in the jail populations across the state” at a time where inmates are in danger of contracting the coronavirus.
“We are the only state in the country that in the middle of this public health crisis have decided to increase the number of people who are incarcerated in jails,” he said.
Law enforcement groups also have a mixed reaction to the changes. A spokesman for the New York State Sheriff’s Association says while it’s good that some crimes were added back to the bail eligibility list, the group is disappointed that the new law leaves out a “judge’s ability to consider the defendant’s dangerousness in making a bail decision.”
