Today, Assemblyman Will Barclay (R,C,I-Ref-Pulaski) joined Assembly Minority Leader Brian M. Kolb (R,C-Canandaigua), Assemblyman Joseph M. Gigilio (R,C,I-Gowanda) and other members of the Assembly Minority Conference at a press conference to introduce a bill known as Ramona’s Law. The bill would extend the period between parole hearings from two to five years for criminals who commit heinous crimes. In 1992, Ramona Bantle-Fahy survived a violent sexual assault and kidnapping. Had she not been able to escape from the trunk of her attacker’s car and summon help, she would likely have been murdered. She’s now forced to relive this trauma and face her attacker every 24 months to testify against him in parole hearings to ensure he stays in prison. Ramona’s Law would eliminate this two-year requirement and expand it to five years.

This legislation covers the following serious, violent crimes:

• Murder in the First Degree
• Aggravated Murder
• Murder in the Second Degree
• Sodomy in the First Degree
• Rape in the First Degree
• Predatory Sexual Assault Against a Child

“The legislation unveiled by our conference today will help victims across the state who have suffered so much at the hands of dangerous criminals,” said Barclay. “Under current law, victims are obligated to testify at parole hearings every 24 months to ensure their attackers remain in prison. It’s cruel and unfair to expect victims to come face-to-face with their attacker with such regularity. Ramona’s Law will allow survivors like Ramona an extra three years to prepare for hearings and to move on with their lives. We cannot continue passing legislation favoring criminals. It’s time to start helping victims and strengthening laws to keep rapists and murders behind bars.”