By Michael Fitzgerald, The Imprint, June 11, 2021
Upending laws on the books since at least 1909, the New York Legislature passed a historic justice reform this week that bars the arrest and prosecution of children who are 11 years old and as young as 7.
More than a hundred young children are arrested and prosecuted in New York each year, overwhelmingly Black and Latino children who face off with law enforcement in their earliest years of life. If signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), New York would become the fourth state to prohibit the arrest of children younger than 12.
“Today we took a historic step towards fundamentally changing how the justice system treats children and ending the destructive cycles of youth incarceration. This bill will help keep children out of the systems that have disproportionately harmed young people of color,” state Sen. Jamaal Bailey (D) of the Bronx stated in a Thursday press release. “The immense harm done to children exposed at an early age can destroy a child’s future at the critical moments when they most need support and guidance.”
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