Press Release:
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R, C-Batavia) attended a joint press conference to call out the unacceptable and persistent release of cop-killers by the New York State Parole Board. Since 2017, 41 cop-killers have been released. Hawley was joined by his colleagues in the state Assembly and Senate and members of the law enforcement community to advocate for police officers and their families.
Hawley has sponsored a proposal (A.3481) that would require life without parole for the first-degree murder of a police officer. The Majority, however, has not allowed this initiative to move forward in the lawmaking process.
“New York State’s Parole Board has failed us,” said Hawley. “These are the people who are supposed to keep dangerous criminals locked up, but instead, they’re letting them move in next door. Our police officers are the fabric of our society. An attack on one of them is an attack on our way of life. These cop-killing cowards belong in jail, no ifs, ands or buts. I will continue to work with my colleagues in the state Assembly and Senate until we have a parole board that actually cares about protecting victims, not rewarding criminals.”