MONTICELLO – One of the
major obstacles to finalizing a New York State budget is something called
“Raise the Age.” The current practice, at least in theory,
in New York State, to prosecute all juveniles ages 16 and 17, accused
of a felony, as adults. North Carolina is the only other state that does
that.
During Thursday’s County Legislature Public Safety and Law Enforcement
Committee, District Attorney James Farrell called it a “fallacy.”
“In 2015, 96 percent of 16- and 17-year-olds that were prosecuted
in the State of New York – let me repeat that, 96 percent –
had their records sealed and suffered no criminal conviction,” Farrell
said.
Calling himself a “pretty tough DA,” Farrell said the figure
is identical in Sullivan with 96 percent ending up with no record.
It’s the other four percent, the ones who shoot and kill someone
while robbing a store, he’s worried about.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen, but we know one
thing, that the governor has tied his budget to this social and policy
issue, which, in my opinion, is plain wrong,” Farrell said.
County Jail Administrator Harold Smith said one concern is that if juveniles
spend any time in the jail, even as a suspect pending arraignment, for
a minor offence, the juvenile is at risk of making the wrong kind of friends.
A tentative agreement reportedly was reached earlier this week on a compromise
that would refer all misdemeanor cases to family court, and allow violent
felonies to be referred to family court under certain limited criteria.
Use of a weapon, injury to a victim, or a sexual component would preclude
that.
