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Senator Bruno, joined by Senate colleagues and Laura Mae's father, Kenneth Marbot, announced that the Senate was passing "Laura Mae's Law" to toughen penalties for endangering the welfare of a child. |
Senate Also Approves Bill To Abolish Conditional Release Commissions
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
The New York State Senate today approved "Laura Mae�s Law," that would establish a felony-level crime for endangering the welfare of a child when the endangerment results in injury or death. The legislation is sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno and Senator Martin Golden (R-C, Brooklyn).
The legislation is named after Laura Mae Marbot, a three-month old infant who died in 2000 while at an overcrowded, illegal day care center in Rensselaer County. The operator of the center, Mary Beth Anslow, pled guilty to Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a misdemeanor under current law, and was sentenced to one year in county jail. The Rensselaer County Conditional Release Commission voted to grant Anslow conditional release after serving only three months of her jail sentence, a decision that was overturned in a state Supreme Court decision announced yesterday.
In addition, the Senate approved a bill, sponsored by Senator Bruno and Senator Michael Nozzolio (R-C, Fayette), that would abolish local Conditional Release Commissions that have the authority to release convicted criminals before they have served their full sentence.
"With these two bills we are addressing the tragic case of an infant who was neglected and died in an illegal day care operation," Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno said. "A tragedy that was twice compounded when the operator of the center received too light a punishment because our laws are too lax, and when she was released far too soon in an appalling decision by the local Conditional Release Commission. This situation hit home in the Capital Region, but it could happen anywhere in the state unless we enact these bills into law."
"We are honored to know that our daughter�s legacy will live on to protect others with this important legislation," Kenneth Marbot, Laura Mae�s father, said. "We thank Senator Bruno and everyone in the Senate for taking this important action."
Legislation (S.5425A) the Senate passed today would raise endangering the welfare of a child from a class A misdemeanor to a class E felony, punishable by up to four years in prison, when the child suffers physical injury, serious physical injury or death; or the person committing the offense has previously been convicted of various assault, homicide, sex, obscenity or child sexual performance offenses; or the child is under 13 years of age.
"The law has long recognized the need to protect children through the endangering the welfare of a child statute," Senator Martin Golden (R-C, Brooklyn), a sponsor of the bill said. "Recent highly publicized cases have focused attention on the unfortunate reality that all to often, the abuse is extremely cruel or heinous, yet does not necessarily result in physical injury. This bill would strengthen the law to recognize that certain behavior should be elevated to the level of a felony and anyone who perpetrates such abuse on a child should be behind bars for a longer period than called for by current law."
A study by the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention suggested that 11.6 children per 100,000 are killed through abuse and neglect, a rate higher than the national homicide rate. In New York State in 1995 there were 130,000 reports of child abuse and neglect; 2,500 physical injuries and 130 related fatalities. In New York City alone, there were 50,000 reports; 800 physical injuries and 70 related fatalities. Nationally, it is estimated that $13.3 billion is spent on child protection and yet the number of reported incidents continues to spiral upward.
The bill, which is a Governor�s Program Bill, also establishes the new crime of endangering the welfare of a child in the second degree when a parent or guardian of a child commits an act of violence against another person in front of that child. This new misdemeanor offense would be punishable by a maximum of one year in jail.
This legislation builds on the Senate�s overall effort to strengthen state laws to protect children, including the Senate Task Force on Children�s Health and Safety, appointed by Senator Bruno and Co-Chaired by Senator Nicholas Spano (R-C, Westchester) and Senator Mary Lou Rath (R-C, Williamsville). The Task Force will soon be holding hearings throughout the state and will make recommendations this year on what can be done to better protect children and make them less vulnerable.
The Senate approved legislation (S.6085) to immediately abolish all local Conditional Release Commissions, which have the authority to grant conditional release to inmates serving definite sentences of imprisonment in local jails, prior to the completion of their full sentence.
Current state law, enacted in 1989, requires Conditional Release Commissions be established in every county and the City of New York. These commissions are authorized to release inmates from local jails after they have served a portion of their sentence. The law does not specify standards or criteria to be considered by these commissions in determining eligibility of inmates for release. The lack of standards in determining eligibility for release has caused the public to question the value and need for these commissions. According to the Department of Probation and Correctional Alternatives, only 77 inmates were released statewide by these commissions last year.
In the case related to the death of Laura Mae Marbot, the Rensselaer County Conditional Release Commission released Mary Beth Anslow after she served only three months of her one year jail sentence. The vote to release her came under questionable legal circumstances and was overturned yesterday by State Supreme Court Justice James Canfield, who remanded Anslow back to jail to continue serving her sentence.
"The lack of standards governing these commissions, the infrequency of use of the power to release inmates and the questions raised by the public as to the need for these commissions clearly indicate that the power of these commissions to release inmates should be terminated immediately," Senator Nozzolio, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Crime Victims, Crime Corrections, said.
Another example of a controversial Conditional Release Commission decision came in Cayuga County in 2002, when a State Supreme Court Justice Peter Corning sent convicted rapist Frank Suressi back to jail after he was granted an early release by the Cayuga County Conditional Release Commission. According to Cayuga County District Attorney James Vargason, in 2001, Suressi pled guilty to raping his 16 year old step daughter and was sentenced to one year in jail.
"These commissions are outdated and their purpose is very questionable," Senator Bruno said. "We should not have a group of unelected citizens in a position where they can second-guess judges and juries and change the sentence of a convicted criminal to let them out of jail before they�ve served their sentence. These commissions have outlived their usefulness and should be abolished immediately."
The bills were sent to the Assembly.
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