Despite Raise the Age legislation failing to reach his desk, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo made an executive order to move 16- and 17-year-olds held in adult prisons to special facilities designed for youths.
“To the dismay of the Raise the Age NY Campaign and its supporters, lawmakers did not reach an agreement on changing the age of criminal responsibility in New York,” the Legislative Gazette reported.
During his State of the State Address, Governor Cuomo had prioritized raising the ages of criminal responsibility from 16 and 17 to age 18.
“We did not reach an agreement on something called Raise the Age, which is a proposal that I had made in the State of the State. The executive will on its own raise the age of people in state prison,” Cuomo said. “Right now 16- and 17-year olds are going to state prisons, and that, I believe, is an intolerable situation. So by executive action we will take 16- and 17-year olds out of state prisons and put them in separate facilities, which will be designed and managed by the Department of Corrections and OCFS.”
“While Cuomo’s executive order will prevent youth from being housed in adult prisons, it fails to meet what the legislation called for – a change to the age of criminal responsibility,” the Gazette reported.
“Gov. Cuomo’s failure to fulfill his public commitment to pass comprehensive raise the age legislation jeopardizes public safety and lets down children like Kalief Browder who spend years in the adult system for simple mistakes,” reads a statement by the Raise the Age Coalition.
“For three years, Kalief Browder, who was 16 when arrested, was held at Rikers Island in New York City, waiting for a trial that never happened. After two years in solitary confinement, his charges were dropped and he returned home. He never recovered from the psychological effects of his detention and committed suicide,” the Gazette reported.
“I am dismayed that New York state did not raise the age of criminal responsibility and left over 33,000 youth annually subject to arrest and prosecution as adults,” said Angelo Pinto, of the Correctional Association of New York. “Kalief Browder’s recent suicide illustrates how the adult criminal justice system destroys young people’s minds and bodies.”
