By Brianna Lyman
The mother of a murdered Army veteran blasted bail reform Tuesday during a Congressional hearing, claiming it is “leaving a trail of dead bodies in its wake.”
Madeline Brame, the chairwoman of the Victim’s Rights Reform Council, state director of Blexit NY and “the mother of a homicide victim” slammed New York’s bail reform laws in the wake of her son’s death.
“My son, Sgt. Hason Correa … was killed in 2018 in Harlem, New York. Hason survived the battlefield of Afghanistan but was killed right here in the streets of New York,” she said during the hearing.
Brame explained how Correa was killed by two brothers, their sister and a fourth man. All four suspects were apprehended, with the three men currently held on Riker’s Island without bail awaiting trial. The woman, Mary Saunders, was granted bail, Brame said, noting her bail dropped to $12,000 following bail reform. Saunders is charged with second-degree murder and gang assault, the New York Post (NYP) reported.
“Mary has been out on bail for over two-and-a-half years, coming and going as she pleases,” Brame said. “There is nothing standing between me, my grandchildren or the public to protect us, or deter anything that could possibly happen.” (RELATED: ‘It’s Madness’: An Analysis Of What Progressive Bail Reform Is Doing To American Cities)
Saunders was allegedly seen on video punching and kicking Correa and holding him down as her two brothers and the third man stabbed him to death, according to the NYP. Correa and his father reportedly had a dispute with a man prior to the fatal incident, with the man returning hours later to attack them.
“I’ve been faced with a lot of delays and trauma and torture and unanswered questions, trying to fight to get justice for my son. My son served this country, he deserves way better than what he is getting. This entire incident was captured on video so there’s no assumption of who these people are. And my grandchildren are afraid to come to New York to visit me because they are afraid that the bad lady is going to kill them.”
“No one should have to be subject to this. No one should have to live in a society where there is complete lawlessness. This bail reform in New York has decimated the black and brown communities. It’s like a runaway train that’s crashing right into our communities, leaving a trail of dead bodies and victims in its wake. It’s an atrocity, it’s a disgrace and it needs to be rollbacked in its entirety or at least allow judges to determine the dangerousness of these people before they let them out.”
Brame said while she acknowledges the need for criminal justice reform, the current bail reform “sends a direct and clear message to those criminals that you have a free pass to continue on your crime spree.”
Saunders’ bail was slashed after Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Ellen Biben ruled it was Saunders’ first arrest and she had children, according to the NYP.
