Monroe County Legislators Mary Valerio (District 3 – Chili) and Jeff McCann (District 19 – Greece) have announced their support of State Legislation known as “Jilly’s Law” and urge the local State Senate and Assembly Delegations to vote for its passage.
Jilly’s Law is named after Jill Cahill, a Syracuse woman who was viciously attacked by her husband Jeff, striking her more than seven times with a baseball bat and nearly killing her because she planned to divorce him. While her attacker was on bail, she was granted an order of protection, forcing Jeff to stay away from Jill and their children. Shortly after his release from prison, however, Jeff began to research ways to poison his wife. After stealing potassium cyanide from a local company, he entered the hospital where his wife was staying and, posed as a janitor, proceeded to poison and kill Jill Cahill.
“Domestic violence is very much a reality all over the nation,” said Legislator Valerio. “And because an alarming percentage of murder victims are killed by someone who is close them, it is necessary that the courts consider whether the perpetrator may continue to be a threat to the victim or the community, not simply whether he is likely to fail to appear in court.”
Had the New York courts granting Jeff Cahill’s bail been permitted to consider the safety of his victim, the nature of his offense, and the impact on the victim, they may have been able to protect Jill from her husband’s second attack. Instead, as dictated by New York State law, the pre- and post-indictment courts handling the case are currently only allowed to consider whether the defendant is likely to appear in court – and this is determined by community ties, criminal record, and whether he or she has failed to appear in court previously.
“Jilly’s Law has the potential to protect scores of men and women in the New York,” said Legislator McCann. “This piece of legislation will give the courts a much-needed wider scope of criteria, ultimately allowing them to make a more informed decision when setting bail for defendants such as Jeff Cahill.”
Jilly’s Law will expand the bail criteria in domestic violence cases to include violations of court orders, history of threats, violence against a victim, orders of protection previously held against the individual, and the violent nature of the alleged crime. The bills, which have been introduced in the Senate (S.1401) and the Assembly (A.3035), have yet to be voted upon during this session.
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