Click here to read a summary of the Four Bad Bills
“As District Attorney, my foremost responsibility is to protect the safety and well-being of our communities and to stand up for victims who rely on the justice system for fairness and accountability,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney. “That is why I am deeply concerned about four bills currently under consideration in Albany that are co-sponsored by a majority or near-majority of legislators: Elder Parole, the Earned Time bill, the Fair and Timely Parole, and the Second Look Act. While these bills are often framed as reforms and have innocuous titles, in reality, they will push thousands of New York’s most violent criminals out onto our streets.
“The backers of these bills gloss over or ignore the inmates that will really benefit from these bills. For example, Elder Parole should be named the “Abolish Life Without Parole Bill,” because that what it does. Serial killer Joel Rifkin and LIRR killer Colin Ferguson would immediately get parole hearings, and the families of the victims would have to start fighting to keep them in. Under the Fair and Timely Parole Act, which turns parole upside down, the parole board couldn’t consider their horrific crimes, but only how well they are doing in prison. If the Earned Time bill passes, most violent criminals in New York State can cut their sentence in half and hit the streets early. “Under the Second Look Act, even the racist Buffalo supermarket killer would get his sentence re-evaluated six years from now in 2032. There are countless other examples.
“Our justice system must provide certainty in sentencing so victims can have closure and not have to continually worry that the criminal who hurt them will be released early. These bills favor criminals over victims. They will make New York unsafe. I urge our lawmakers in Albany to read these dangerous bills; don’t be fooled by pleasant-sounding titles. Protect the public. Protect victims. Stop destroying New York.”
“It is time for the NYS Legislator to stop putting ideology before safety,” said County Executive Edward P. Romaine. “These bills are an insult to every law-abiding citizen, the law enforcement community and especially the victims of these crimes. Use common sense and do not pass these bills.”
“This week is National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, a time that is supposed to be about recognizing, honoring and listening to victims and grieving families,” said Theresa Bliss. “And yet, just 3 days ago while a few of us were in Albany, we sat in on the Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee meeting. We showed up, we were there, and it was painfully clear that the voices of victims are still being ignored, in fact…. it felt like we were invisible. Instead, we heard about the desire for incarcerated individuals to move forward, we heard about second chances, and how we can’t just discard incarcerated individuals, even how some of them were previously crime victims themselves and providing opportunities to ensure that they heal. But Nothing about that should come at the expense of families living with the kind of loss that comes from the hands of a murderer. So, I have a question. A question for every New York lawmaker pushing the Earned Time Act, Fair and Timely Parole Act, Elder Parole and Second Look Act: Does our pain mean anything to you? How do you fight so aggressively for the early release of murderers, yet dismiss the families whose lives were shattered. How do you look grieving families in the eye — if you even bother to — and still push bills that undo justice for the worst crimes imaginable? How do you advocate for giving mercy to violent offenders who showed none to our loved ones. You call it restorative justice and convince yourselves it’s about rehabilitation, fairness, reform and second chances. You lean on talking points about over-incarceration, aging prison populations and taxpayer costs, while ignoring those of us directly impacted. Let me be very clear: There is no restoration for a life taken. There is no second chance for a murder victim. A life taken is a life gone forever. There’s no bringing them back. You want to talk about healing. These bills don’t promote healing, they deepen the wounds of the mothers, the fathers, the brothers, the sisters of every homicide victim; our wounds never heal, because that’s what murder does. There is no true healing. Ever. At just 25 years old, my son, my first born, David Bliss, was taken in a violent senseless act carried out in broad daylight by 3 strangers who didn’t even know him. He had his entire life ahead of him. A future full of goals and dreams. A family of his own one day. He was just about to start school to become a welder, a handworker, with a rare talent these days, working with his hands. He had talent. In a single moment, March 24, 2021, it was all taken from him.
“And when the person responsible was convicted, I sat in the courtroom on sentencing day, holding my breath, praying for a sentence that would reflect the seriousness of the crime, hoping the justice system would recognize the depth of our loss. A sentence that could give us even the smallest piece of stability in a world that had completely fallen apart, and a sentence that affirmed my son’s life mattered, and justice would prevail. When that 40-life sentence was handed down, it felt like we could finally begin to grieve. So, I’ll ask you again. How do you advocate for laws that will shorten sentences and hand out second chances to people who never gave their victims one?
“You talk about reform like its progress, but for families like mine, it feels betrayal. You are so focused on supporting the ones who caused the pain; you are turning your backs on the ones living with it. These bills are gut punches to every family of a homicide victim who believed the sentence handed down would mean something. We were told justice had been served. Now you want to take that back – disguised as “parole reform” — while ignoring the very real pain and trauma families carry forever. Where is fairness for families like mine? You push a set of bills when you’ve turned a blind eye to the reality behind the sentence — and an even blinder eye to the irreparable harm caused by the offender. When you pass laws that prioritize criminals over victims, you’re not reforming the system — you’re erasing us. Stop acting like our pain is just an unfortunate side effect of your so-called reform. You shouldn’t get to build a political legacy by trampling the families already devastated by violent crime; victims deserve more than your indifference. You are determined to lessen the sentences of incarcerated individuals, even if it means re-traumatizing families of homicide victims in the process. It feels like we are being told that our loss doesn’t matter, that our loved ones don’t matter, and any meaningful accountability doesn’t matter. We are not collateral damage in your political agenda. You don’t get to undermine our judicial system and rewrite sentences after the fact. We were promised justice, don’t take that away from us. Justice isn’t disposable. So once again, does our pain mean anything to you? Because your actions say no. And to senator Salazar, as chair of the crime victims, crime and correction committee, I’m calling on you publicly and asking you to meet with all the families like mine; my story is not unique. There are families across NYS who are living with this same kind of loss every single day. Sit down with US, hear our stories, not just the voices you’ve chosen to prioritize. Hear what it’s like to walk into a funeral home and see your child’s lifeless body lying in a casket. As a mother so distraught that all I wanted to do was take him home and lay him in his bed because I couldn’t let him go.
“This is why I do what I do, and why I advocate so fiercely against these bills, because the person responsible who stole his life should serve every single day of the full sentence they were given. Lastly, to every New Yorker who believes in real justice, now is the time to Speak up. Demand that lawmakers stop rewriting sentences, stop undermining our judicial system, and start standing with the real victims. Because if we allow this to continue, we are sending a dangerous message that the criminals who’ve committed the most heinous crimes matter more than the lives they took, and that is something we should never accept. We cannot allow violent offenders to be treated as if they’re the ones who’ve been wronged.”