Cuomo Proposes to Raise Age Teens Can be Tried as Adults

Governor Andrew Cuomo wants to raise the age New Yorkers can be charged and tried as adults.

Currently in New York that age is 16 and 17, but most other states have set higher ages. To study the issue the Governor has created the Raise the Age Commission to make recommendations to increase the age threshold in New York. Cuomo proposed the commission in his State of the State address.

New York is one of only two states in the country whose age of criminal responsibility is 16-years-old. Over 33,000 16 and 17-year-olds were tried as adults in 2013.