THE NEW YORK POST OBVIOUSLY WON'T HUG-A-GANGBANGER

Judge Denis Boyle’s leniency may have cost New Yorkers’ lives 

 

Post Editorial Board 

 

New York Post

November 15, 2021

 

 

                                                   Judge Denis Boyle

 

If you want to know why there’s so much crime in The Bronx, look no further than at Acting Supreme Court Justice Denis Boyle — a serial thug-springer in a robe.

The most recent proof: the arrest last week of 17-year-old Darryl Burnett with a loaded .38-calibre handgun. He was free to terrorize New Yorkers because Boyle rolled back his bail last summer after the teen was nabbed for attempted murder. Boyle cut the bail from $100,000 cash or a $200,000 bond to just $50,000 cash or bond.

Now cops say Burnett got caught with a loaded gun. That arrest might’ve saved lives — but if not for Boyle, he might not have been out on the streets in the first place.

Boyle’s leniency in other cases may well have cost lives: In May, he sprung reputed gang member Steven Mendez, granting him probation for participating in an armed robbery and shooting last year; prosecutors had asked for up to four years in prison. Mendez is now accused of killing college student Saikou Koma, 21, last month.

In June, Boyle shaved bail — from $75,000 to just $10,000 — for another reputed gangbanger, Alberto Ramirez, who quickly hit the streets and, cops say, killed a 34-year-old father of two. And the list goes on.

Think about how much safer residents would be if someone more concerned about keeping criminals off the streets sat in Boyle’s place. Oh, and Boyle, 67, has never even stood for election: He was sent to the Criminal Court in 1991 by Mayor David Dinkins and then reappointed in 2002 and 2012 by Mayor Mike Bloomberg; he was elevated to acting justice by the state’s chief judge to help handle the crushing Bronx caseloads. .

As we noted Monday, Mayor-elect Eric Adams is determined to rein in crime, but he can’t do it alone. Especially with judges like Boyle. One obvious fix: the bail laws, which now bar judges from using their discretion to impose bail in all but the worst cases, even as they retain the right to lower bail and impose lighter punishments.

Alas, Adams’ job will be even harder if lawmakers like state Sen. Zellnor Myrie prevail: He wants to scrap mandatory minimums and lighten sentences. Activists are also pushing bills to let inmates apply for new hearings to cut their prison terms.

Myrie calls the current system racist, with no sign of care for black and Hispanic crime victims. Adams, who’ll be the city’s second African American mayor, needs to stand up to Myrie & Co. — and focus on protecting the innocent.