Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he's issuing conditional pardons for about 10,000 former juvenile offenders who won't have to disclose convictions on employment, credit or other applications.
The New York Democrat says offenders with misdemeanor and nonviolent felony convictions at age 16 or 17 will get pardons after a decade with no subsequent crimes.
Cuomo tells WNYC radio most will be drug cases. He says youths make mistakes that shouldn't mean lifelong hardships.
The Raise the Age Campaign, which like Cuomo advocates raising the age of criminal responsibility in New York from 16 to 18, says he took a critical step in improving access to education, employment and housing.
Cuomo says eliminating criminal history questions from job applications would be going too far because employers have a right to protect themselves.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
