Republicans on Long Island pushing for law requiring bail in all arson cases
BRENTWOOD, N.Y. -- New York's bail reform laws are again under fire as Republican lawmakers on Long Island push for a change they say will save lives.
As CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reports, they're calling for judges to have more discretion in dangerous arson cases.
At a press conference Wednesday, a firefighter's gear stood as a plea to rethink bail reform. It belonged to Billy Steinberg, a Monticello-area volunteer. His family is travelling the state to share his story.
The 37-year-old died of heart failure in January while working a fire set by an accused serial arsonist.
"That fire would not have happened if he was in jail where he should have been," Steinberg's step-son Kyle Wheat said.
"If that arsonist was not there and set the third fire, none of us would have been there and my son Billy would still be with my wife and my rest of my family," Steinberg's father, James Steinberg Sr., said.
It was the third house fire set in a week. The accused was set free twice because the crime is no longer bail-eligible in New York.
State Republicans are pushing for Billy's Law, which would require bail in all arson cases.
"You have someone who needs to be removed from society and judges need to have the discretion to do so," New York State Sen. Anthony Palumbo said.
"They sold it as only covering low-level, non-violent crimes. Arson is violence," New York State Sen. Phil Boyle said.
Calls to roll back bail reform come amid a litany of high-profile cases.
It's a hot-button issue on Long Island, where a red wave unseated Democrats in November and rolled in Suffolk's new district attorney, Ray Tierney.
Tierney displayed some of the 48 designer handbags ripped out of Balenciaga store in East Hampton by emboldened thieves who he says don't fear consequences. Four were arrested. One was a no-show to court, and another was released without bail.
"I think it's frustrating because it takes the discretion out of the hands of the professionals, the litigants and the judge," Tierney said.
But Democrats in Albany publicly stand firm that bail reform is working, saying people should not be jailed solely because they can't afford bail. Judicial discretion, they say, increases racial disparities.
Privately, sources tell CBS2 that Democrats are trying to craft some kind of changes to bail reform, negotiations are going on and the governor's office, aware of the political fallout, is trying to come up with a compromise.
Meanwhile, Republicans attempt to dismantle it one offense at a time.
"Close the arson loophole and begin, even with the smallest step, to restore some sanity," New York State Sen. Alexis Weik said.
New York is the only state in which judges have no discretion to hold a defendant on bail based on the potential danger they pose.
We requested comment from Gov, Kathy Hochul's office on where she stands on Billy's Law and changing bail reform. We have not yet received a response.
