Local lawmaker want to see changes to New York State’s Raise the Age law

ALBANY, N.Y. — The debate around New York State’s Raise the Age law is heating up.

The law allows people who have stayed out of trouble for ten years to request certain past convictions be sealed. However, some crimes such as sex crimes and violent felonies cannot be sealed.

The law also raised the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 18 years old. That means offenders under 18 have their cases heard in family court.

When it passed, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said people shouldn’t be branded with the stigma of non-violent crimes if they’ve turned their lives around.

Republican lawmakers are calling for adjustments to the law. They say they want to see offenses like gang assault and possession of a weapon exempted from the law. In a statement to News10NBC, Assemblywoman Marjorie Byrnes of Caledonia said:

“From carjackings to the violence in and around Rochester, we all have been impacted because there is no accountability. Bail reform is bad enough, but Raise the Age took away permanent records, it gave anonymity, it supported that revolving door for criminal behavior. It has to be reformed, and it should be done now.”