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City Council Subpoenas RPD re: Police Brutality

Thank you!

Today New York raised the age of incarceration and criminal responsibility.This never would have happened without people all over the state, people like yourself, standing up for young New Yorkers.

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Please join us to celebrate at our Sustainer Challenge and Celebration FUNdraising Reception, Silent Auction and Basket Raffle. We'll be reviewing our participation in the Raise the Age campaign. Sign up here. If you can't make the FUNDraiser please contribute to Rochester ACTS today. Your contributions help us continue this critical social change work. Click here to contribute.

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How did we do it?

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It was all the things that everybody did. And we want to thank you for putting your shoulder to the wheel.

• The phone calls to the NYS Senators
• The postcards
• The lobby visits locally and in Albany

• The press conference
• The emails
• Radio and newspaper interviews
• Letters to legislators
• Letters to the editor

It all helped!

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Please join us at our Sustainer Challenge and Celebration FUNdraising Reception, Silent Auction and Basket Raffle. Sign up here. If you can't make the FUNDraiser please contribute to Rochester ACTS today. Your contributions help us continue this critical social change work. Click here to contribute.

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THE DETAILS
Under the new law, cases involving 16 and 17 year-old defendants would be adjudicated as follows:

• Civil violation charges, such as open container violations and possession of small amounts of marijuana, as well as misdemeanors under the Vehicle and Traffic Law, such as DWIs, would continue to be handled in the local court;
• All misdemeanor charges under the the Penal Law would be handled in Family Court;
• All felony charges would begin in a newly established Youth Part of the criminal court, presided over by a Family Court judge, where offenders would have access to additional intervention services and programming;
• Non-violent felony charges would be transferred to Family Court, unless the district attorney makes a motion and demonstrates extraordinary circumstances that justify retaining the case in the Youth Part of the criminal court;
• Violent felony charges would remain in the Youth Part of the criminal court and be subject to a three-part test that weighs the seriousness of the offense to determine whether the case will be eligible for presumptive removal to Family Court;
• Juvenile cases not eligible for removal will be treated as adults for sentencing purposes, though the court will be directed to consider the defendant's age when imposing a sentence of incarceration.

Faith community tackling racism

Democrat and Chronicle coverage

The clergy have already embarked on some discussions of racism around Rochester under the umbrella of the organization Roc/ACTS, which promotes progressive policies. Roc/ACTS has collaborated with local churches to promote conversations about race, accompanied by facilitators.

Rabbi Drorah Setel of Irondequoit's Temple Emanu-El’s said that attempts to delegitimize the worth of some people has led to historical ugliness, such as the devastation of the Holocaust.

"Racism is a terrible fragmentation of God's creation," she said.

Sacred Conversations on Race

WXXI coverage

And Pastor Wanda Wilson with Open Arms Christian Fellowship Ministries, says it's great all these congregations are coming together to address this, but she says it's time to move beyond the personal level of racism, and take it to another level -- institutional racism.

"How are we actually going to bring down those walls. The institutionalized racism in housing, in employment, in education, in the criminal justice system. What are we actually going to do about it, and we need to bring ourselves together as one to combat it," she said.

IF YOUR CONGREGATION HAS NOT YET SCHEDULED A SACRED CONVERSATION ON RACE PLEASE CALL THE ROC/ACTS OFFICE AT 585.303.2110.