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Over 35 clergy members signed onto the letter that will be delivered to Governor Cuomo, Majority Leader Flanagan and Speaker Heastie. Westchester Children’s Association (WCA) organized a press conference on the release of the letter.
Pastor Jeffrey Geary of White Plains Presbyterian Church on North Broadway, made his opinion clear, why the time is now to pass raise the age legislation for criminal responsibility from 16 to 18 years of age.
“As faith leaders from many backgrounds, traditions and beliefs, we stand here united by our great concern for the future of children in our communities," Geary said.
The Raise the Age campaign supports age-appropriate punishment for youth who commit crimes. What they want the public to know is that adult prisons do not focus on rehabilitation, and are not designed to meet the needs of children. Young people confined in adult facilities are much more likely to face traumatic physical and sexual violence than those in juvenile facilities, the campaign said.
Current law sets young people up to become re-offenders: research has shown that young people who go through the adult system are much more likely to re-offend than those in the juvenile system, the campaign said. Studies have found that young people transferred to the adult criminal justice system have approximately 34 percent more re-arrests for felony crimes than youth retained in the youth justice system, the campaign said.
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