Flanked by dozens of law enforcement officers from across New Hampshire, Gov. Kelly Ayotte on Wednesday urged House lawmakers to advance legislation to repair a failed attempt at bail reform and improve public safety.
Ayotte, who has previously described the current law as a “failed social experiment,” said she doesn’t blame anyone for the failed attempt at reform. “I just think that this was an effort in 2018 based on a national movement that didn’t fit New Hampshire.”
Ayotte recalled joining a Manchester police officer for a ride-along during her 2024 campaign for governor.
“I’m with this fantastic young officer who showed me his pinky that had been gnawed to the bone and he lost six months of work by someone who shouldn’t have been out, but was out on bail, and, of course, he was injured, and he’ll have those scars for the rest of his life,” Ayotte said.
The bill before the House, HB 592, eliminates the state’s “three strikes” rule for repeat offenders. Arrested individuals would be “presumptively detained” if they commit a felony while free on bail. Serious crimes would result in bail being set by judges instead of magistrates, yet the proposed law stresses defendants would not be detained solely because they can’t afford to post bail.
A press conference promoting a fix to N.H.’s bail reform law, March 12, 2025
During Wednesday’s press conference, Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais ticked off a list of statistics he said show how repeat offenders have taken advantage of relaxed Granite State bail requirements.
According to Ruais, Manchester police carried out 4,584 arrests in 2024, with 37 percent released on bail. Approximately 27 percent of those arrested were already roaming free on bail.
“Five recent examples of individuals who were arrested for serious crimes in the city of Manchester and then released only to be rearrested were for the following crimes: murder, stalking, stabbing, assault, and armed robbery,” Ruais said. “This is grossly unacceptable.”
“Concord, the City of Manchester is depending on you,” Ruais told lawmakers.
Critics of rolling back progressive bail reform argue it would result in over-incarceration. According to the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire, HB 592’s passage “would lead to the needless and harmful incarceration of thousands of Granite Staters – disproportionately people of color – at enormous taxpayer expense.”
Ayotte swatted down concerns about costs to taxpayers, citing the system New Hampshire had prior to progressive 2018 bail law changes.
“I think it’s a misrepresentation that suddenly we’re going to have this massive, increased incarceration because we finally recalibrated our bail law to where it was and made sure we protect the public,” Ayotte said. “What price can we put on someone who’s been murdered, raped, assaulted, or when we have a Bedford police officer get shot by a three-time offender and should have never been on the streets? That has a huge cost.”
Ayotte was referring to a January incident involving a Bedford police officer shot by a suspect who gained control of the officer’s gun during a standoff. That officer survived the ordeal despite suffering a gunshot wound to his leg.
The suspect, 40-year-old repeat offender Jared Masseur, was wanted at the time on a series of felony drug-related warrants. Records show Masseur had been arrested at least three times since 2020.
Each time, he was released. He never showed up for a single court date.
State Rep. Ross Berry (R-Weare) was a supporter of the original bail reform plan and said the legislation “still haunts him.” He said he’s faced pushback from progressives who have dismiss incidents like the Bedford shooting as “anecdotal.”
“They always try to dismiss things as anecdotal evidence, but the anecdotal evidence has piled so high at this point, it’s no longer anecdotal,” Berry said. “No one in this room wants to hold a poor person in jail for an indefinite period of time for a low-level crime they might not have committed.
“The problem is, it’s being applied to rapists, drug dealers, and child molesters. It’s time to bring that to an end. It’s time to end the revolving door.”
Strafford County Sheriff Kathryn Mone, a Democrat who was sworn into office position in January, said New Hampshire’s approach following the 2018 progressive reforms “has been failing.”
“It is clear that the governor and our legislature have been listening to those of us on the ground, those of us doing more, those of us witnessing the failings of the system firsthand, and are ready to support changes that will move towards long term solutions.”
Mone added she’s spent a career in law enforcement believing she’s made her community “a safer place” with each arrest.
“I then put my trust in the next step of the process, believing that the next step was going to continue the process that law enforcement began to ensure public safety,” Money said. “Since 2018 the bail process has been failing in its critical role in our system.
“We cannot stand by and let it continue to fail.”
