Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay Comments On Changes To Criminal Justice Laws

by Contributor | April 3, 2020 11:20 am

NEW YORK STATE – Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay has released the following statement regarding changes in criminal justice laws.

“Legislative majorities, along with Gov. Cuomo, may have walked back some of the abysmal criminal justice laws passed late last year. However, although they finally acknowledged their failed signature policy, they came up woefully short in an attempted remedy.

    New York remains the only state prohibiting judges from using their discretion to determine risks posed by accused criminals. New York Democrats still believe they are better equipped to protect communities they’ve never seen, instead of local, duly-elected jurists who have served the cause of law and order for years.

In addition, prosecutors’ offices have been inundated since January 1, and are in need of significant help. Creating an unreliable funding gimmick that does little to help prosecutors truly manage the full impact of new pretrial procedures is half-hearted at best.

A year ago many, New Yorkers were willing to give criminal justice reforms a chance. It took less than two months for an overwhelming majority of the public to realize the real-world disaster taking place right before their eyes.

We needed more than a symbolic gesture and cursory changes. To alleviate the genuine concerns of law enforcement, prosecutors and the public, we still need a real, substantial rollback of dangerous policies protecting bad actors. This is about public safety and rightfully entrusting our judges and judicial system to do what it was set up to do – facilitate equity and justice.

Sadly, we didn’t get that; instead, we got a haphazard half-measure passed in the middle of the night – and it will not do.”

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/news/assembly-minority-leader-will-barclay-comments-on-changes-to-criminal-justice-laws/

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