Normal people find the idea that someone could kill a child all at once both repulsive and incredible. Reading of a child’s death at the hands of a brutal killer makes us sick and disgusted with the state of our society. That’s why protecting our children is so very important, especially in an age of Internet predators and stepped up abductions. But strangers are not the only ones who can threaten children; sometimes guardians and unfit parents are a tremendous danger to a little one. In a continuing effort to protect New York’s innocent children from being victims of violent child abusers, the New York State Senate has passed “Nixzmary’s Law,” a bill that would require a sentence of life without parole for parents or guardians who kill a child. The legislation is sponsored by both upstate and downstate senators, who have united on this critical issue. The bill (S.675A) is named for Nixzmary Brown, a seven-year-old Brooklyn girl who was brutally beaten and left for dead last year. Her mother and stepfather were charged with her murder. The legislation adopted by the Senate would create the crime of “aggravated murder of a child” and it would require a sentence of life without parole for the parent, guardian or other person in a position of trust who abuses and tortures a child under the age of 14, causing the death of the child. At the time, everyone in the state was shocked and horrified by the brutal, tragic death of Nixzmary Brown. The bill passed by the Senate would close a criminal justice loophole that allows violent child abusers to escape life without parole when they cause the death of a child. In Nixzmary’s case, and without the bill the Senate has passed, the murderers could be eligible for parole after serving only 15 years in prison. The Senate’s bill recognizes that the crimes committed against Nixzmary were so atrocious and depraved that the killers should never be allowed out of prison. It is critical that we reexamine the systems that are designed to protect our children, as we know the systems are not perfect. We need to do everything we can to prevent children from potential harm and young Nixzmary’s death illustrates the need to close the loophole that permitted this horrendous crime from occurring. Existing law mandates the sentence of life without parole for the death of a child less than 14 years of age only in those cases when a person 18 years of age or more commits the crime while committing a felony sex crime against the child. In all other cases, a person who tortures and abuses a child, causing the child’s death, or intentionally causes the death of a child, can be paroled after serving a minimum term, no matter how horrific the crime. That’s just wrong, and we should be outraged by it. Murder is abhorrent. Taking a life shows a lack of respect for life. Taking a child’s life is even more abhorrent. However, even more reprehensible is when the innocence of a child is snuffed away by someone she trusts, such as a parent or guardian, who abuses and tortures that child to death. To think a murderer could be so vile as to prey on the innocence of a child and still be allowed parole is unthinkable. It is imperative we send a clear and unmistakable message to these miscreants, the scourges of our society, that their actions won’t be tolerated. This good bill cannot become law without also passing the Assembly and then being signed by the governor. So I urge the Assembly to quickly pass Nixzmary’s Law and join in protecting our most precious treasure – our children.
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