Action Alert!
Send a message to Governor Cuomo
urging him to support the effort to
change the age at which children
are charged as adults.
Can you believe New York is the only state other than North Carolina where 16-year olds are automatically charged as adults? In this new video teens outline all the things that 16-year olds can't do - while they run the risk of being thrown in jail or prison with adults.
Click HERE to send a message to Governor Cuomo urging him to support the effort to change the age at which children are charged as adults.
Charging children as adults doesn't work for community safety and it doesn't work for the youth who get charged as adults.
Studies have found that young people transferred to the adult criminal justice system have approximately 34% more re-arrests for crimes than youth retained in the youth justice system. Around 80% of youth released from adult prisons reoffend often going on to commit more serious crimes.
Studies show that youth in adult prisons are twice as likely to report being beaten by staff, and nearly 50% more likely to be attacked with a weapon than children placed in youth facilities while they also face the highest risk of sexual assault.
Click here to share the video with your friends, and don't forget to write to the Governor letting him know you support the Raise the Age campaign.
For more information regarding Families Together in New York State and Raise the Age NY, contact Brad Hansen, Public Policy Coordinator at [email protected] or visit
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