SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick and Syracuse Police Chief Kenton Buckner have had enough of New York’s Criminal Justice Reform and in a Friday press conference that gave specific reasons that everyone that has been paying attention knew long ago.
We commend both of them for boldly speaking up.
Using a detailed PowerPoint presentation, Fitzpatrick outlined his case for how the shortcomings of the state’s bail reform and Raise the Age legislation is creating a dangerous environment for the community according to Syracuse.com.
Using the example of two teenagers that are accused of opening fire the night of June 7th, killing Darren Rosa, 23, with a bullet to his head, Fitzpatrick said that both shooters had multiple interactions with law enforcement before the murder, but were released from custody after their cases were sent to Family Court.
The 2020 bail reform discourages the incarceration of young people and places them back on the streets after committing crimes. In the case of Rosa, the suspects should have never been on the streets after their past encounters with law enforcement.
While bail and youth reforms were intended to minimize the impact of the criminal justice system on people who have historically been over-policed and over-incarcerated, according to Fitzpatrick, the population the reforms were designed to protect are now hurting them at an astronomical rate.
“They’re killing poor people and people of color,” the DA said.
Syracuse Police Chief Kenton Buckner agreed that well-intentioned reforms had “overcorrected” the ills of past laws and were having unintended consequences.
Those consequences have been known for a year but until now, few have been willing to speak out about it.
We commend both Fitzpatrick and Buckner for their courage and for the sake of all citizens, we hope to see more leaders like them.
