Senator Mark Walczyk has publicly criticized Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposal to release a large number of inmates convicted of violent crimes. Walczyk argues that this plan poses a risk to public safety and reflects inadequacies in state leadership.
Walczyk accused the Democrat-controlled Senate and Assembly of contributing to public safety issues by allowing early release of violent felons for ‘good behavior’. “The Democrat-controlled Senate and Assembly are making New York even less safe; letting violent felons off early on ‘good behavior’ because of the Governor’s terrible handling of the prison system,” Walczyk stated.
He also predicted that the decision would place undue pressure on parole officers. “Here’s my prediction: This move will overburden parole officers. So Albany Democrats will shorten time of parole supervision, ignore pleas for more staff, then blame the parole board and the police when people start dying on the street at the hands of reoffenders. Crime will continue to rise and become more violent and New York’s Governor, Majority Leader of the Senate, and Speaker of the Assembly, will blame everyone except the face looking back at them in the mirror,” Walczyk noted.
In his statement, Walczyk urged leaders to heed the advice of law enforcement and public safety professionals. “What they should do, is listen to police, prosecutors, judges, parole officers, corrections officers, and common-sense New York residents. The Albany Democrats ought to stop virtue signaling and start policing crime and protecting the public – this was once a governmental pillar held by both political parties. They’ve lost their way,” he concluded.
