Jacob’s Law seeks tougher penalties after 12-year-old killed by stray bullet
After 12-year-old Jacob Freytes was killed in the Bronx, lawmakers are demanding tougher laws to protect children from being exposed to deadly violence.
Two weeks after Jacob was fatally struck by a stray bullet while sitting on his bicycle outside a bodega in Mount Eden, New York lawmakers announced proposed legislation known as “Jacob’s Law”. The measure would make it more serious if an adult recklessly kills a child.
The proposed law also underscores a broader concern from a child protection perspective regarding children’s safety in communities where armed violence can become a life-threatening event. Jacob was outside a bodega when a fight broke out and gunfire started, and a bullet accidentally hit Jacob.
His family has demanded more accountability and more protection for other children since his death.
“I want to be at peace, knowing that not only will this man go to jail for the rest of his life without parole, but also be rest assured that everyone else’s child…faces the same exact thing,” Jacob’s mother, Migdalia Martinez, said.
The case poses questions for child protection advocates that go beyond punishment. Children should be able to ride their bikes, walk through their neighbourhoods and use the community space without being exposed to preventable violence.
“Jacob’s Law” is likely to be heard in both houses of the New York State Legislature. Passed, it would increase the severity of the punishment for the reckless killing of children.
The proposed legislation comes as Jacob’s family continues to mourn a child whose life was cut short by violence he had no part in.
