Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says the jury is still out on bail reform.
“What I would just say is that we should just give this time. It’s been five minutes,” AOC told The Post when asked if the controversial new law needed to be amended.
“Give it a shot. We’ve had almost no time since these things have passed. So I would just say, in this environment with political pressure, to maybe just say let’s just slow down a bit.”
Ocasio-Cortez made the remarks during a ceremony to kick off her 2020 reelection effort in Parkchester, The Bronx, on Saturday. She warned that powerful monied interests had assembled to thwart the law’s success.
“There’s a very strong campaign coming from a lot of different interests to roll them back,” she said. “I’m sure that there’a a lot of money with the bail bond industry, a lot of folks make a lot of money on cash bail, and I think that this is a well-funded campaign.”
Bail reform, passed by the Democratic-controlled state legislature last year, prevents judges from imposing bail for low level offenses. Critics have said it created a revolving door for criminals to re-offend while they await trial. Both New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo have urged the legislature to amend the law.
*story by The New York Post