For the cost of jailing one person on misdemeanor charges, the county could offer free tuition to SUNY Broome to 20 local youth. Or hire two mental health counselors. Or offer incentives to respond to the staffing crisis at the county’s debilitated Department of Social Services, with over 80 vacant positions. Local elected officials appear oblivious to these needs, expanding instead the jail budget yet again this year, and empowering the newly elected Sheriff to hire up to 38 more correctional officers by offering $5,000 bonuses and lowering educational requirements.
Drug Crimes
Edward Holley, 42, left the Orange County Correctional Facility in Goshen a day earlier than expected, freed until a grand jury indicts him in a case that police brought before prosecutors were ready. Holley was being held in the jail on unrelated drug charges when New York State Police charged him with the 2003 killing of 20-year-old Megan McDonald.
Murder
The sudden arrest last week in a 20-year-old Orange County murder case took two unusual turns Wednesday, when the suspect was released from custody and a special prosecutor was appointed to handle the case.
Homicide
The Holley case will instead be handled by Julia Cornachio, a defense attorney who worked as a prosecutor in the Bronx and Westchester County for more than 30 years and handled "numerous homicide cases," Hoovler said. Appointed to assist her is Laura Murphy, another former prosecutor who oversaw cold cases in Westchester.