Mayor Eric Adams Calls For Bail Law Reform

Mayor Eric Adams Calls For Bail Law Reform

Mayor Eric Adams has called for a change to New York City’s bail reform laws. Adams was speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, July 26, when he used the example of a 16-year-old boy who recently violently attacked a member of the NYPD.

The attack took place at a subway station in Upper Manhattan on the evening of Saturday, July 23. The teenage boy attacked the police officer for reprimanding him after he had tried to board the train without paying the fare.

The officer asked the teenager to leave the subway but the boy chose to act violently instead. Adams saw it fit to use the incident involving the teenager as an example because the teenage boy had allegedly committed robbery along with his accomplices on Wednesday, July 20th.

He was then released without bail, even though he had committed a violent crime. Adam is calling for an examination of the bail laws that allow violent criminals to easily get released from jail and continue roaming the streets.

“We are saying: Re-examine the bail laws in the area of violent offenders,” he said. “Robbery is a violent crime. But as soon as we catch them, the system releases them and they repeat the action. When I say we’re the laughingstock of the country, this is what I’m talking about.”

Adams emphasized this desire to see a change in the bail legislation by calling on the lawmakers in Albany to meet in an emergency special session.

Still on Bail Law Reform…

“I hope that just as we had a special call to return to Albany to deal with the [US Supreme Court] ruling on the right to carry [handguns], I believe that Albany should consider coming and revisiting some of the violence we’re seeing of repeated offenders,” Adams said.

“We need to be clear on that. We’re not talking about someone that steals an apple. We’re talking about someone that has repeatedly used violence in our city: robberies, grand larcenies, burglaries, shootings, carrying a gun,” Adams said. “This group of people are repeated offenders in our community, and they’re hurting our public safety.” 

The call for an emergency session by Adams is more in line with the calls from the Republicans in New York. Governor Kathy Hochul held a slightly different perspective. Hochul, speaking at a separate event on Tuesday, said that there were currently no plans for the legislature to meet for a special session. She did, however, agree that public safety was very important.

Assembly Speaker of the House Carl Heastie publicly said he didn’t think it was necessary to hold a special session saying the current law allows for the detention of a criminal to be achieved in family court, forcing the victims to go after the violent offenders instead of the state.

There have been continuous calls from the various people in the political sphere of New York City for a change in the bail laws. The laws currently in place are perceived as being lenient on violent offenders who commit major crimes and are immediately found on the street again, committing more serious crimes. NYPD  Commissioner Keechant Sewell said that the laws “embolden” criminals to commit crimes repeatedly with no consequences.