A New York state man accused of murder in July was freed from jail after Governor Kathy Hochul approved a new parole reform bill last week. That same man was sent back to jail approximately 10 hours later.
Joseph Rivera, 21, was arrested on July 21 for alleged violations of his parole. However, authorities looked at Rivera as a possible suspect in the murder of Heather Majors.
Majors, 47, was stabbed more than 30 times in a hatchet assault on July 10 in Rochester. Authorities planned to file murder charges against Rivera before his release date in mid-December, but he was let out early due to Hochul’s “Less Is More Act.” Authorities did not allow Rivera to enjoy his freedom for too long. The New York Post reports that the man has now been officially charged with second-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty to Majors’ murder and was ordered detained without bond at the Monroe County Jail and is due back in court on Monday for a preliminary hearing.
Melanie Majors, Heather’s mother, said that her daughter was asleep at a boarding home when she was attacked with a hatchet. She also said that Heather’s death came among a “weird combination of things that should never have happened” and that “she didn’t deserve any of this.” After Rivera’s arraignment, Heather’s sister, Jessica, stated, “He shouldn’t have been released. He killed my sister like an animal. He’s 21-years-old, and if he could be that brutal, commit that brutal of a crime at 21, he doesn’t need to be out.”
According to WHEC, he was one of 17 people in the Monroe County Jail for violating their parole who were set free without police being alerted.
The “Less is More Act,” a recently signed parole reform bill, eliminates technical violations such as missing an appointment and detecting alcohol or drugs in urine samples as grounds for reincarceration. When signing the bill, Hochul stated, “Our fellow New Yorkers on parole deserve to reenter society with our support and respect — reincarcerating parolees for technical violations traps them and doesn’t help our communities.”
The new law also expedites judicial consideration of any parole infractions and provides time off of parole for good behavior. Republican lawmakers in the state Legislature criticized the decision, as Democrats focus more on living conditions at Rikers Island than the safety of law-abiding New Yorkers.
The release of inmates under the “Less is More Act” comes amid warnings of strict enforcement of mask-wearing on the subways with a $50 fine for non-compliance and several tense incidents resulting from the newly imposed proof-of-vaccination mandate.
When asked about Rivera’s release, Hochul maintained her support for the parole reform measure saying, “The individual was in on a technicality. No person who’s accused of violent crime will be walking from jails.”
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