Senator Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick and LI Colleagues Introduce Bills Legislation That Would Make Body Dismemberment Bail Eligible; Prohibit Use of Ankle Monitors in Certain Situations

The suspects in the case were released under New York’s notoriously flawed bail laws after being charged with the concealment of a human corpse by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office as part of their ongoing investigation, and ordered to remain in Suffolk County with GPS ankle monitors.

The newly proposed bills would make the crime of body dismemberment/concealment of a human corpse a bail eligible class E felony (S.8751); and would create an exception to help prevent victims in such heinous cases from being released, even with electronic location monitoring (S.8778).

"We must address the glaring gaps in our bail laws that allow individuals suspected of heinous crimes to walk free without appropriate safeguards. Despite GPS monitoring being intended as a less restrictive alternative to custody, New York State's bail reforms categorize it as a custodial condition similar to pre-trial detention, with the same time limitations before an individual must be released. While New York’s bail reforms still need a comprehensive overhaul, this horrific case in Babylon underscores yet another glaring loophole in the law that needs to be corrected immediately. Members of the community should not have to fear that those credibly suspected of such depraved acts may be released back into the community with no way to monitor them. My proposed legislation seeks to rectify this by ensuring that GPS monitoring is not treated the same as truly holding a suspect in custody," said Senator Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, 9th Senate District.