Violent Assault on 101 Year-old New Yorker Spurs State Legislature to Action

A recent mugging in New York apparently struck a nerve with lawmakers there. At 101 years old, the lady in this video held up quite well despite the violent attack against her. The attacker made off with a measly $33 and her house keys. In response to this widely publicized video clip, the New York legislature quickly passed a law making it a "violent felony" to assault someone over 65. Before this law was passed, the assailant could have plead in his defense that he didn't know his victim was so old and possibly get off with no more than a misdemeanor. With this new law, it doesn't matter how old the assailant thought his victim was when he attacked. It's a felony!

WARNING: This video content is quite disturbing despite the fact that the victim survived.  

In Utah, it is a 2nd Degree Felony if someone "[u]nder any circumstances likely to produce death or serious physical injury . . . causes a vulnerable adult to suffer serious physical injury."  (U.C.A. Sec. 76-5-111). The definition of "Vulnerable Adult" includes anyone age 65 or older.  A 2nd Degree Felony in Utah will usually get someone up to 15 years of prison time and up to $10,000 in fines.  When such an assault is combined with a robbery, as in this case, you can almost bet that the sentence will be enhanced.

For more information on Utah laws designed to protect our elderly population, you may find the following article written by Utah attorney and educator Mary Jane Ciccarello to be a useful starting point for further research.

The point of this post is to merely bring attention to the vulnerability of many of our seniors and the need for all of us to look out for them and do our part to protect them.  Remember, laws protecting vulnerable individuals do no one any good if citizens do nothing to enforce or uphold them through reporting situations where such laws are being violated.  If you suspect that a senior you know may be the victim of physical, emotional, sexual, or financial abuse, contact an Elder Law attorney, law enforcement officer or any of the local Utah Area Agencies on Aging for help.

Thanks to Jane Gross of the New York Times for bringing this story to my attention through her excellent blog "The New Old Age Blog."