O’Mara, Senate GOP colleagues call for repealing 'bail reform' law

Albany, N.Y., January 9—State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C,I-Big Flats) and the Senate Republican conference today called for repealing New York’s newly enacted bail reform law as criticisms continue to mount from regional and statewide district attorneys, law enforcement agencies, and many elected officials that the new law is dangerous and unworkable.

The Senate GOP proposed a repeal amendment, which O’Mara co-sponsored, during today’s Senate session.  The amendment was defeated along party lines.  O’Mara noted that the controversial bail reform law was enacted last year without the support of a single Republican in the Senate or Assembly.

“Governor Cuomo and New York State Democrats are responsible for this bail reform disaster, and they refuse to recognize the danger it’s posing every single day to our communities and neighborhoods,” said O’Mara, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.  “These so-called ‘reforms’ are nothing more than unlocking the cell blocks and sending potentially dangerous criminals back into our communities and neighborhoods, day after day, with no safeguards. Democrats keep shrugging off the warnings and that’s irresponsible, to say the least.”

On Wednesday, O’Mara criticized Governor Andrew Cuomo for failing in his 2020 State of the State message to stop the implementation of New York’s new bail reform law.

“Governor Cuomo had a perfect stage to highlight the new bail reform law as the ongoing public safety disaster that it is and at least call for immediate actions to ensure that New Yorkers throughout this state are no longer threatened by a bad law,” said O’Mara.  “Not a day goes by without another story of another dangerous criminal being set free.  Governor Cuomo and the Democrats responsible for a bad and dangerous law refuse to heed the warning signs.  How long will they wait?  It is a dangerous and disturbing trend of over rolling over backwards for criminals to radically redefine criminal justice in New York State at the expense of victims and their families and loved ones, communities and neighborhoods, and taxpayers.”

O’Mara said that in recent days advocates of the new bail reform law have started speaking out against making any changes to it at all.

The actions, pushed by Cuomo and legislative Democrats, have raised alarms throughout New York’s law enforcement community.  Among other provisions, the new law eliminates cash bail and pretrial detention for nearly all misdemeanors and nonviolent felony cases, resulting in the mandatory release of 90% of those arrested, regardless of their criminal history.

O’Mara charged that it is creating a system of criminal justice in New York State that releases violent criminals back into the community without supervision and fully capable of threatening their victims, the victim’s family members, trial witnesses, and others.