In Loving Memory, Penny L. Brown
In Penny’s name, her family worked to pass Penny’s Law in New York.
“Penny’s Law” allows juveniles convicted of murder as adults to be sentenced as adults.When Penny Brown was brutally raped and then strangled to death on Mother’s Day of 1999, her family, friends, colleagues, and community were devastated. Devastation turned to despair when her 15-year-old killer received only nine years to life in prison. Frustrated with the grossly inappropriate sentence, a grass-roots campaign to change the juvenile sentencing law was born. “Penny’s Law”.
New York State Assembly Bill #A1628, named for Penny Brown, was then drafted with the help of Assemblywoman Catherine Young, and State Senator Patricia McGee. “Penny’s Law” changes the sentencing range for juvenile murderers from 5-9 years to life, to a far more appropriate 15-25 years to life.
For all the families and friends of those who have suffered the loss of a loved one by the hands of a Juvenile, we join this national memorial site of victims of teen killers. Thanks to New York State Senator Cathy Young who at the time held the title of Assemblywoman Catharine Young for her efforts. And thanks as well as all of you that supported the creation of Penny’s Law. 
“Rape is rape. Murder is murder. A sexual predator is a sexual predator. Youth is no excuse.”
by signing a compromised version of the bill into law.
Governor Pataki, Assemblywoman Cathy Young, Janice Grieshaber
Senator Pat McGee, Assemblyman Joseph Lentol
To each and every one of our Supporters!
A Message From Assemblywoman and “Penny’s Law” Sponsor, Catharine Young
Far too many times in New York State, violent juvenile predators have not received appropriate sentencing for their crimes. The problem is that our laws are not tough enough and we need sweeping juvenile justice reforms.
Currently there is a cavernous loophole in New York State law that must be closed. The concept is very simple. If a juvenile commits a murder and is tried as an adult, that person should be sentenced as an adult. To fix this loophole so that justice can be served, I have introduced Penny’s Law in the New York State Assembly.
Penny Lea Brown was a wife, mother of two, and a well-known and respected nurse-midwife. She went for an afternoon jog with her two dogs on a recreational trail near her home on Mother’s Day in 1999. She never came back. Police and volunteers launched a massive search, and around 1:00 p.m. the next day, her body was found near the trail under leaves and debris. Penny had been brutally raped and murdered in broad daylight on Sunday afternoon on a public path in the middle of Salamanca.
The Penny Lea Brown case is just one example of many where the sentence does not fit the crime. Edward Kindt, who was age 15 at the time of the murder, has been convicted of viciously raping and strangling Penny Lea Brown. To this day, Edward Kindt has shown no remorse for his vile atrocities. During sentencing, the judge called Kindt a “Sexual Predator” and told him, “You are a threat any time you are in society.” The judge lamented that his hands were tied, that he gave Kindt the maximum sentence allowed under current New York State law, and that is not enough.
Penny’s family had been relieved when they found out that Kindt would be tried as an adult. Their relief turned into disbelief when they realized that it did NOT mean that he would receive a longer sentence. Trying a juvenile as an adult for murder in New York State basically means that the case is switched from Family Court to Criminal Court. Most people would be surprised to learn it does not mean stiffer penalties.
If Kindt had been just a couple of months older, he would have received a maximum 25 years to life. Instead, he was sentenced to only 9 years to life. It is possible that he could be walking the streets, free to rape and kill again, in as little as 6 years.
That fact is an outrage.
Under the current system, justice will not be served for any victim who is murdered by a juvenile or their families until we change the law. Right now, in New York State, if you are brutalized, raped, and killed, the penalty for taking your life is less if your predator is under a certain age.
Whether young or old, a murder is a murder, and a sexual predator is a sexual predator.
Penny’s death was a gruesome, savage act. People who commit such acts do not belong in our communities. Our families must be protected from them. They must be locked away.
“Penny’s Law” protects families by eliminating the distinction between juveniles and adults convicted of murder in the second degree extending the minimum term of imprisonment to not less than 15 years.
Is Life Without Parole For Juveniles Cruel And Unusual?
On Mother’s Day, 1999, Penny Brown, a 39-year-old midwife and mother of two, went for a jog on a trail with her two dogs in Salamanca, New York. But she never got to come home because of choices made by an extremely violent 15-year-old named Edward Kindt. Kindt attacked the mother, raped her, strangled her with her a leash from one of her dogs, and buried her beneath a pile of leaves, branches and twigs.
