Gov. Andrew Cuomo
today during the state of the state backed a push to raise the minimum age at
which teens can be tried and charged as adults—one of a host of
initiatives rolled out in the last State of the State address of his
first term.
“Our juvenile justice laws are "outdated",” said the governor in his
speech, pointing to rules that allow 16- and 17-year-olds to be tried
and charged as adults in New York.
Only one other state in the nation has the same rules, Mr. Cuomo said: North Carolina.
“It’s not right. It’s not "fair". We must raise the age,” he said,
proposing a new commission on youth public safety and justice to push
through the changes in the next year.
(
politicker)
The Bill's lead sponsor is the homosexual Daniel O'Donnell (main sponsor of the same gender "marriage" law), the bill's only co-sponsor is Ellen Jaffe (who represents New Square and parts of Monsey).
They Both also sponsored a bill that would raise the eligibility rate for how old someone can be to be allowed to be tried as a child (from 19 to 22) (no word yet if the governor also supports this bill)
These bills will endanger the lives of many New Yorkers because those tried as juveniles are more likley to return to the street.
Ellen Jaffe continues to get the support of the "Godfather of New Square" (95+% NS voted for her) despite being a co-sponsor of the same gender "marriage" bill.
ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo’s
plan to raise the age at which New York teens can be tried as adults
received a lukewarm reaction from GOP lawmakers Thursday but won the
support of a top prosecutor.
Senate Deputy GOP leader Thomas Libous (R-Binghamton) said in a radio
interview he was open to Cuomo’s proposal but noted it was a sensitive
issue for lawmakers because of the
violent nature of some youth crimes.
“
Some of the most heinous crimes are committed by kids who are 16 and
17,” Brooklyn Sen. Martin Golden, another Republican
and a former New
York City cop, told the Daily News.
Cuomo, in his State of the State address Wednesday, said New York was
one of only two states that treat 16-year-olds as adults in criminal
court. He called for a special commission to draft plans to increase the
age, but did not say by how much.
Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, head of the state District Attorneys Association, hailed Cuomo’s announcement.
“What we are doing by treating these kids as adults is putting them in a
potential cycle of recidivism,” said Rice, who stressed the association
has yet to take a position on the issue.
Nearly 50,000 16- and 17-year-olds are arrested each year and charged
as adults, advocates said. Most are charged with "minor" offenses like
shoplifting and pot possession.
Rice and other advocates said treating 16- and 17-year-olds as adults
denies them the programs they "need" to turn their lives around.
“It’s a "myth" that prosecuting kids as adults promotes public safety,”
said Gabrielle Horowitz-Prisco of the Correctional Association of New
York.
