A new group called the Common-Sense Coalition, made up of officials representing Long Island government and law enforcement, has been formed to recommend changes to New York State’s controversial bail reform law. Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr. is among the members.
East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc and Shelter Island Town Supervisor Gerard Siller have endorsed Bridget Fleming's campaign.
New York State lawmakers are likely to revisit a new bail reform law that went into effect on Jan. 1. The law eliminated bail money for most arrests and took away judges’ longstanding discretion on whether or not an individual should be held pending a formal court date or post a sum of cash designed to assure the alleged offender’s return to face charges. In some cases, defendants might be tempted to leave town, hoping to outrun the law; in others, police and critics of the law say, they might reoffend.
It is almost inconceivable that the future of a grand jewel among protected lands on the entire East Coast remains in doubt, but though there is hope that Plum Island could someday be preserved, it is far from certain.
