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May  14,  2015

An  Open  Letter  to  the  New  York  State  Legislature:

We  all  understand  the  moral  arguments  against  prosecuting  and  incarcerating  children  as  

adults.    History  will  surely  judge  us  by  whether  we  help  or  harm  young  offenders;  and  it  is  

impossible  to  reconcile  our  Constitution’s  prohibition  against  cruel  punishment  with  the  

disturbing,  often  violent  outcomes  for  young  people  held  in  adult  facilities  in  New  York  State.

For  thirty  years,  my  wife  Harriet  and  I  have  served  the  formerly  incarcerated  and  homeless.  

Thousands  and  thousands  of  times  we’ve  heard,  first  hand,  how  a  brush  with  the  criminal  

justice  system  sets  a  life-­‐long  cycle  of  poverty,  drug  use,  and  recidivism  into  motion.    Even  

when  an  offender  is  an  adult,  with  an  appropriate  sentence  in  a  well-­‐run  facility,  the  

unintended  consequences  of  incarceration  affect  their  lives  and  their  family’s  lives,  forever.

For  children—  and  they  are  children,  with  minds  still  growing  and  developing—  the  full  weight  

of  our  criminal  justice  system  is  crushing.    A  single  mistake,  even  a  misdemeanor,  can  be  life  

ending:  the  Campaign  for  Youth  Justice  points  out  that  suicide  rates  among  young  people  in  

adult  prisons  are  36  times  higher  than  in  juvenile  facilities.    

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But  there  is  another  side  to  this  argument  which  hasn’t  been  discussed.  What  does  

incarcerating  children  as  adults  mean  for  our  collective  future?    What  are  the  implications  for  

the  rest  of  New  York  State—  its  people,  its  economy?    

The  mass  incarceration  of  adults  has  dealt  our  country  a  crippling  blow  which  we  are  only  

beginning  to  fully  appreciate.    The  Governor’s  Council  on  Community  Reentry  and  

Reintegration,  which  I  am  proud  to  serve  on,  was  formed  in  part  to  address  this  crisis:  a  coming  

wave  of  millions  of  people  returning  home  from  prison,  with  few  if  any  prospects.  If  we  don’t  

provide  a  path  for  them,  with  economic  opportunity  and  mobility  paving  the  way,  the  cost  of  

their  incarceration  will  far  exceed  the  terms  of  their  sentences  for  taxpayers.  

For  young  people  released  after  serving  time  in  adult  prisons,  the  economic  consequences  to  

the  state  will  last  even  longer  and  cut  much  deeper.    Their  descent  into  homelessness,  poverty,  

mental  illness  and  drug  use  will  begin  as  soon  as  they’re  released.    And  New  York  State  

taxpayers  will  bear  the  ultimate  financial  responsibility  for  their  ruined  lives.    

With  recidivism  rates  as  high  as  80  percent  for  young  offenders,  our  system  is  manufacturing  

criminals  far  more  quickly  than  it  reforms  them.    And  we  are  disabling  our  own  economy  by  

pumping  millions  of  dollars  into  a  machine  that  destroys  young  lives,  instead  of  investing  in  

them.  

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I  urge  you  to  seize  the  opportunity  provided  by  Governor  Cuomo  to  safeguard  the  lives  of  our  

children  and  the  future  of  our  state’s  economy.  Raise  the  age  of  juvenile  jurisdiction  to  18  and  

ensure  that  no  more  young  people  are  subjected  to  a  destructive,  expensive,  ill-­‐fitting  system.  

The  longer  we  wait,  the  further  out  of  reach  prosperity  becomes:  for  them,  for  their  

communities,  and  for  our  state  as  a  whole.  

George  T.  McDonald

Founder  and  President

The  Doe  Fund