New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) will soon shower 900 freed inmates with gifts such as Mets tickets, movie passes, and gift cards for simply showing up to their court dates.
As Breitbart News reported, New York’s series of bail reforms, set to go into effect January 2020, will ensure that suspects accused of crimes deemed “non-violent” are not jailed before their trial dates and do not have to post bail. Instead, these suspects are released directly back into the public and expected to show up for their court dates.
Those so-called non-violent crimes include second-degree manslaughter, aggravated vehicular assault, promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child, possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child, criminally negligent homicide, and aggravated vehicular homicide.
Part of the rollout will include De Blasio rewarding the roughly 900 inmates — who are set to be freed after January 1, 2020 — with gifts such as tickets to Mets games, movie tickets, and gift cards to go shopping.
De Blasio has called the measure “a smart policy.”
This week, law enforcement officials across New York voiced opposition to the bail reform plan and are asking Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to reject the upcoming implementation.
Richmond County District Attorney Michael McMahon told CBS New York that there will be violent criminals who immediately get released after arrest under the new law:
Manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, burglary, drug sales on school grounds, anyone who looks at these 400 charges can see there are crimes that an average person would consider violent. [Emphasis added]
Acting Queens District Attorney John Ryan detailed a recent example where a repeat burglar with five felony convictions will get released from prison at the beginning of the new year thanks to de Blasio’s plan.
Ryan told CBS New York:
Just a few days ago, a defendant was arrested on a commercial burglary. It was his 44th arrest. He has 25 misdemeanor convictions, five felony convictions, and 14 failures to appear in court. He also [has] convictions in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Bail was set, but if his case is not disposed of he will walk out of Rikers on January 1. The point is, you may think maybe he should walk out, but under the law, judge has no choice.
Across the county, jailbreak legislation is helping to free thousands of accused and convicted criminals from prison. Federally, the First Step Act that was signed into law by President Trump has thus far freed about 240 sex offenders, nearly 60 convicted murderers and assailants, as well as almost 1,000 inmates convicted of drug crimes.
Also freed by the First Step Act is Joel Francisco, a notorious former leader of the “Latin Kings” gang who immediately returned to a life of drugs after his release and is now accused of murder.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.