In the wake of a massive rise in antisemitism, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she’d be open to plugging a loophole in New York’s bail laws that lets hate crime offenders back on the street after being busted.
People charged with “making terroristic threats,” a felony, can’t be held on bail under New York’s 2019 bail reform law, making it unlikely that prosecutors could keep those accused behind bars absent other charges.
“I’m willing to look at that,” Hochul said when questioned by a reporter about the issue after speaking in Albany Thursday to a group of law enforcement officials.
“I have human rights laws that we can be enforcing as well, so I have other tools in my arsenal,” the governor added.
For now, prosecutors say their hands are tied.
“We have literally no recourse,” said John Flynn, Erie County district attorney and president of the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York.
“We have no options unless they go out and do something again.”
Patrick Dai, the Cornell student accused of threatening to rape and slit the throats of Jewish students at the Ivy League university, was charged with a federal count of making threatening statements.
Since the charges are federal, prosecutors were able to get around New York’s bail laws and send Dai directly to jail.
Dai originally waived his right to a detention hearing in federal court, but his lawyers have since asked the judge to consider releasing him.
He’s scheduled to appear in court Thursday afternoon.
Flynn said he hasn’t had to prosecute any terroristic threats charges in the last month since Hamas’ attack on Israel spurred a nearly 400 percent rise in antisemitic incidents here at home.
However, the Buffalo prosecutor said he would likely bring in the feds in cases like Dai’s.
Democrats made some slight alterations to the bail laws in this year’s state budget.
The spending bill was held up for nearly a month as Hochul refused to sign off without changes.
Flynn said he’s not optimistic Hochul and the legislature have any interest in touching the bail laws again.
“I think the governor used all her political capital last year to get the minor changes we got,” Flynn said.
The most significant change removed the instruction to judges to impose the “least restrictive” option against a defendant.