Contact: Michael Fraser, (518) 455-3751 (office); (518) 859-8518 (cell)
Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb (R,C-Canandaigua) today issued the following statement on the rejection of a bill (A.520, Kolb) that would require violent sexual offenders to serve full prison terms and mandate lifetime parole supervision upon release. The legislation was blocked today in the Assembly Codes Committee during National Crime Victims' Rights Week.
"By refusing to advance legislation that bolsters sex-offender laws, the Assembly Majority has insulted crime victims everywhere. Their timing could not have been worse.
As the nation recognizes Crime Victims' Rights Week, it has never been more appropriate to offer greater protections to families and communities by ensuring that violent sexual offenders are kept off the streets and receive necessary supervision once their sentences end.
We have recently seen the shocking case of a sexual predator released too early and allegedly raping a woman in a New York City bar. Despite pleas from his own family that he remain behind bars, he was set free, and the system's failure led to violence against an innocent victim.
Nearly 40 percent of convicted rapists are charged with another sex offense within 25 years of their release from prison. We must take steps to improve our laws that offer protections to women and families. It is shameful that the Assembly Majority would block this from moving to the floor for a vote."