Assemblyman Brian Manktelow (R,C,I-Lyons) recently joined Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay, Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, other members of the Legislature and a large delegation of law enforcement officials and district attorneys to call for an immediate fix of bail reform to be included in this year’s budget. Manktelow is eager to reach a good faith compromise on public safety across the state. He is also supportive of increased funding for community outreach programs and local mental health initiatives.

“Bail reform as it exists now is harming more people than it is helping,” Manktelow said. “We need to go back to the drawing board and implement a more secure and fair system. The pendulum swung way too far with this current iteration and we need to look again at judicial discretion and discovery changes immediately. There is a solution that makes all New Yorkers safer and ensures justice is distributed with a fair hand in all cases. But what we have right now is simply damaging the public safety of everyone. Now’s our chance to fix bail reform.”