Rep. Pete King Calls New York's Bail Reform Law 'Disastrous'

SEAFORD, NY—Rep. Pete King took to social media Tuesday to let his constituents know exactly how he feels about the state's new bail reform law that went into effect Jan. 1. In his post, he calls the law "disastrous" and says it should be repealed.

The law eliminates cash bail for misdemeanors and non-violent felonies. It also prohibits judges from demanding bail for certain defendants or remanding them to jail. Instead, they must release the defendant on his own recognizance.

"By not allowing judges to set bail even when they believe the defendant is a threat to society, this law has resulted in hundreds of prisoners being released on Long Island including gang members from MS-13, the Bloods and Crypts," King said in a post on his Facebook page.

King said the law was passed by "the progressive left" without any consultation from prosecutors or police officials or organizations.

"Despite desperate cries for the law to be corrected, the Democratic Speaker of the State Assembly is refusing to make any changes at all even though 47 of the 50 states give discretion to judges to set bail," King said.

King announced Tuesday he is co-sponsoring legislation called Bill’s Promise Act - H.R. 3657. According to King, it would require the Government Accountability Office to review monitoring practices for pretrial release programs at the federal, state and local levels. This would include providing data on offenses committed by individuals on pretrial release over the past 10 years.

"H.R. 3657, unlike New York State’s bail reform legislation, was developed with input from law enforcement organizations and is supported by the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriff’s Association and the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence," King said.

While many commenters on King's page agreed with his stance on the law, others disagreed with some of his remarks.

"There is always room for improvement," one person wrote. "But the old way ruined many innocent lives. Pete King, I would like to see you open a dialogue where all sides can be heard, rather than simply bash an attempt to fix a large problem."

"Congressman - you were an attorney at one point, right?" another poster said. "Since 1971, New York's bail laws have prohibited the consideration of 'dangerousness' in setting bail. So this wasn't changed by this bill, but partisan Pete doesn't care about facts."