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Fitzpatrick against raise the age movement

Ellen Abbott
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WRVO News
Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick is opposed to a proposal that would remove 16- and 17-year-olds out of the state’s adult criminal justice system and into family court.";

Onondaga County District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick has joined other law enforcement officials across the state in recent days who are criticizing "raise the age" legislation that’s being debated in Albany.

Raise the age would take 16- and 17-year-olds accused of certain crimes out of the adult justice system and into family court. Advocates say dumping teens into the adult criminal justice system makes it much harder for them to get their life back on track.

But Fitzpatrick says from a public safety perspective, it’s dangerous. He says it would hamper police investigations, keep individuals off of sexual predator lists and place these youths in a system -- family court -- that isn’t designed to deal with these kinds of offenders.

“They’re not little shoplifters or fare beaters, they’re gangsters, they’re murderers, they’re rapists, they're burglars, they’re violent thugs and they don’t deserve to receive a pass from the New York State Legislature," Fitzpatrick said. 

Credit Ellen Abbott / WRVO News
/
WRVO News
In a news conference last week, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick showed a number of social media posts in Syracuse where youth under 18 are brandishing firearms. It was part of his pitch against state legislation to move criminal cases for ages 16 and 17 into family court.

At a press conference Friday, Fitzpatrick flipped through a number of social media posts in Syracuse that show 15-, 16- and 17-year-olds all holding what look like real firearms.

"They’re not holding popsicles, they’re not holding pellet guns," Fitzpatrick said. "They’re holding MAC-10s and Glocks and other things that can cause death and destruction.”

Fitzpatrick says prosecutors across the state are willing to talk to state officials about programs to help teens caught up in the adult criminal justice system. But for now he wants central New Yorkers to call their legislators and ask them not to support this particular Raise the Age proposal.

The proposed legislation is part of the current budget negotiations Albany.

Ellen produces news reports and features related to events that occur in the greater Syracuse area and throughout Onondaga County. Her reports are heard regularly in regional updates in Morning Edition and All Things Considered.