He reportedly called Democratic governor Kathy Hochul “tone deaf to the sorrow of families like mine” after his son, a 20-year-old tourist from Indiana was shot and died in New York City.
A cinema media student from Indiana University named Ethan Williams was shot in the chest at 2:30 a.m. on October 24, 2020, as he and his friends were relaxing on the front porch of an Airbnb in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
Last week, authorities made an arrest in the case, and the suspect was named 26-year-old William Freeman.
Moreover, two years ago, Freeman opened fire on the meeting, thinking that one of Williams’ colleagues was the rival gang member who had slain his cousin.
The New York Post says that over the prosecution’s objections, Judge Leigh Cheng of the Brooklyn Criminal Court granted Freeman, who has nine prior convictions, bail for $350,000.
Jason Williams, Williams’ father, spoke to the media and criticized the verdict and Hochul.
Williams recalled a moment from October’s one-on-one debate between Hochul and Rep. Lee Zeldin. When Hochul “still hasn’t discussed putting up everyone who commits a crime,” Zeldin became dissatisfied about the halfway point.
Hochul declared, “Current bail reform ensures that the law’s principles are strictly enforced and that offenders face severe consequences. I don’t understand what the big deal is here.”
According to Jason Williams of The Post, a candidate who tells another, “I’m not sure why that’s so relevant to you” regarding New York’s rising crime rates is “tone-deaf to the suffering of families like mine.” Assaulting a jogger in New York City only last week shows “insensitivity to women,” as one commentator put it. As if the escalating violence against Asian Americans wasn’t bad enough, this attitude is also disrespectful.”
To paraphrase what Jason Williams said, “the weight of your elected officials’ silence has not gone ignored,” and “what happened in New York has a cascading impact on the rest of the country.”
Prosecutors claim that NYPD police stopped Freeman on Thursday for driving without a front license plate and without wearing a seatbelt but that he already had an open warrant for his arrest in connection with a petty theft incident that occurred in January.
According to The Post, he was arrested on September 8, 2018, for gun possession and again on April 27, 2019, for domestic violence assault, but most of his criminal history is redacted.
My child is dead because a felon with nine prior convictions was wandering the streets of New York City while free,” Jason Williams told The Post on Monday. Furthermore, she said that neither Mayor de Blasio nor Mayor Adams nor Governor Cuomo had sent her condolences even though her son had been a prominent casualty and one of the few visitors to be shot in many years, garnering widespread national attention.
On Monday, Freeman was still being held at Rikers Island instead of $300,000 bail, despite prosecutors and Jason Williams’ dismay that any bail had been imposed.
Rather than waiting for your phone to call, as Jason Williams put it, you could address this urgent issue for New Yorkers. In the eyes of many, bail reform has become a political “boxing match” that might swing the upcoming election.
“Even though it’s a tragic circumstance, I realize it’s become politicized. And yet, I don’t see this as a political problem but rather a human one. He made a further remark as well. “No matter which side of the phone you’re on, hearing the words “your child has been shot” is devastating. Additionally, it is terrible, Mr. Williams.”