© Mark Vergari/The Journal News / USA TODAY NETWORK
Syndication: Westchester County Journal News
NEW YORK (77WABC) — New York Attorney General Letitia James is reversing course on bail reform.
She has championed the controversial cashless bail law that critics say fed a spike in violent and other crimes, but now she’s now open to changes to the measures.
“We need to address a wide range of issues, including but not limited to looking at bail reform,” James told WGRZ in Buffalo. “I understand this is the concern that individuals have, I understand the fear that they have, but we’ve got to work together and not politicize this very important issue.”
A Siena College poll released Tuesday showed James ahead of largely unknown republican rival Michael Henry by just 11 points, 51% to 40% — down from 16 points a few weeks ago. She won her first election as the state’s top law enforcement officer by 27 percentage points in 2018.
James previously said that legislators should be “resisting the urge to overreact to spikes in crime” — by tightening the bail law without credible data.
