Demanding Answers: Beating Victim Horrified To Hear Suspect Free Under Supervised Release Program
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio's new supervised release program has been getting some serious criticism.
The program recently allowed a suspect accused of badly beating a Brooklyn woman, to get out of jail without paying bail.
Rashea Glenn was in intensive care last week, after being punched a dozen times in an elevator fight in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. Now, she fears for her life.
As CBS2's Emily Smith explained, Glenn didn't want to show her face on camera because her alleged attacker - William Battle - has been released on his own recognizance as part of mayor de Blasio's supervised release program.
The initiative began in April, and lets some defendants who can't afford bail back into the community while awaiting trial.
"I think it's unfair to me and my son that he got released without us knowing," Glenn said.
According to the Brooklyn District Attorney's office, the suspect was initially charged with misdemeanor assault. The police report did not show what the victim actually suffered -- four days in critical condition with bleeding on the brain.
The police report, CBS2 has been told, only cited swelling to the face.
The DA's office requested the suspect be released on $3,500 bail based on prior arrests, but a Brooklyn Criminal Court judge allowed him to forgo bail.
A spokesperson for the judge told CBS2, "based on the facts in the criminal complaint, Judge Lorna McAllister was well within her discretion to release him to the supervised release program."
Glenn's mother said it's dangerous and blamed the mayor.
"Why would you do that, for more votes? I'm disgusted by the whole program," Vanessa Glenn said.
"We are here now, and just trying to move forward," Rashea added.
So far charges against the suspect remain the same: misdemeanor assault, menacing, and endangering the welfare of a child.
Glenn said Battle also punched her 8-year-old son, giving him a concussion.
CBS2 tried to reach William Battle's attorney but did not get a reply.
