Assemblyman Angelo Morinello (R,C,I,Ref-Niagara Falls) is calling on legislators across the aisle to join with experts, community advocates as well as law-enforcement professionals to reexamine and reevaluate the 2019 bail reform laws. New York state has seen a staggering increase in gun-related crimes and deaths since the passage of these controversial reforms and many people believe they have created a public safety epidemic. In Buffalo alone deaths as a result of gun violence have increased 90% from last year. Further, these laws eliminated any judicial discretion from the equation and have left many judges in a bind, unable to hold and forced to release these criminals back onto our streets.

“In the aftermath of the passage of these laws New York has seen alarming rates of gun violence, violent crimes and recidivism,” said Morinello. “It is imperative we review and reassess these reforms with input from experts in the field and amend these laws with the restoration of judicial discretion. Judges should be able to make a determination that a violent offender who is a threat to their community can be held during the pretrial process. Reviewing this legislation would give us an opportunity to have an open, bipartisan process that engages important stakeholders and members of the community, and restores the judiciary so it may function as intended.”