New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced that he will be using $12 million to make life better for…criminals. Law abiding citizens don’t usually benefit from de Blasio’s backwards policies anyways, but this one is particularly bizarre. The hefty $12 million “will offer a slew of free gifts…to incentivize accused criminals to show up for their court dates.”
Free gifts for the criminals who actually obey a single law will include “cell phones, tickets to movies, Mets games, and the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in Manhattan, as well as an array of gift cards to restaurant chains and superstores, including Target, McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Applebee’s.”
The fun begins January 1st, when the city’s new criminal justice reforms go into effect which will also include the elimination of cash bail for most misdemeanors and non-violent felonies. Fun fact, the bail reform program was included in a budget Governor Cuomo signed in the spring, although Cuomo claims “he was unaware of the incentive program for freed suspects” reports National Review.
De Blasio’s brilliant defense of the ridiculous measure was “I think people should ask a real basic question: ‘What’s going to get trials to happen on a regular basis, speedily?’ What’s going to help us mete out justice the way it’s supposed to be done?” De Blasio also argued that the perks program “has been worked on by experts over time and proven to work, proven to be a good investment.”
Law enforcement officials however are not thrilled about rewarding criminals. District Attorney Michael McMahon said the plan is “a deranged mandate” and that “we are reaching the point of the absurd when those who are accused of serious offenses are free to roam the streets or even rewarded with gifts while the rights of victims continue to be ignored.” Roughly 900 criminals will be released in New York City when the supervised release program is implemented. Lucky for them, they will have cell phones and catching a ball game in no time.
