Malloy Pushes To 'Raise The Age' To 21 For Many Crimes

HARTFORD, CT — Gov. Dannel Malloy is making one more push to raise the youthful offender age to 21-years-old. The idea behind his two legislative proposals is to keep those under 21 out of the adult criminal system for minor crimes.

“We know that if we can avoid exposing young adults who have committed less serious crimes to the adult criminal justice system, the less likely those young adults are to reoffend and ultimately become incarcerated,” Malloy said. “The bottom line is young people make mistakes."

Scientific studies and recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions found that those ages 18-21 have similar reasoning and self-control brain development as those who are between 16 and 17-years-old, he said.

The 21-year-old cutoff would take effect by July 2021 under Malloy's proposal.

“The proposals in these two bills follow bipartisan research around what works for public safety and community well-being,” Abby Anderson, Executive Director of the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance, said. “Giving young people in conflict with the law lifelong stigma and barriers to success does not improve public safety, but hinders it. We applaud the Malloy administration for knowing that it is time to stop investing in a system that has hurt communities – mostly those of color – and instead time to invest in communities themselves.”

More from Malloy's office:

The first bill (House Bill 5040, An Act Concerning Adjudication of Certain Young Adults in Juvenile Court), known as “raise the age,” expands the age of the juvenile justice system’s jurisdiction up to age 21 by July 2021. Specifically, this proposal creates a new category within the jurisdiction of the juvenile justice system for individuals between the ages of 18 and 20 called “young adults.” Young adults would fall under juvenile justice jurisdiction in most circumstances, and – where appropriate – would benefit from the protections and services provided by the state’s juvenile justice system.

The second bill (House Bill 5042, An Act Concerning Prosecution of Low-Risk Offenders in Adult Court) expands “youthful offender” status. Under current law, certain low-risk, young adults age 17 and under who are transferred to adult court have the opportunity to plead guilty to the charge of being a “youthful offender” instead of to the original charge. Under this legislation, protections currently afforded to individuals age 17 and under in adult court would be extended to individuals up to their 21st birthday to prevent them from having permanent and life-altering consequences from impulsive and reckless behavior typical of their age group. “Youthful offender” status may not be used by individuals charged with the most serious crimes, including class A felonies, sexual assault and rape. This bill will also ensure that judges and prosecutors continue to retain discretion to handle each case on an individual basis.

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