Using noose to intimidate now a felony
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- May
- 15
Painting, drawing or otherwise placing or displaying a noose is now a felony under New York law—punishable by up to four years in prison.
Gov. David Paterson signed the legislation that was proposed in the state after the well-publicized “Jena 6” case in Louisiana and two cases in New York—one noose was found in the locker room at the Hempstead Police Department on Long Island, and another was on the door of a Columbia University Teachers College professor. In Louisiana, white students hung nooses from a tree and black students were charged with second-degree attempted murder when they attacked a white boy who had been taunting them.
“It is sad that in these modern times there remains a need to address the problem of individuals who use nooses as a means of threat and intimidation,” Paterson said in a statement. “But it is a reality, and if we ignore it we would be derelict in our duty.”
The new law takes effect in November. Legislation passed in 2006 prohibited the use of swastikas as a means of intimidation.
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on Thursday, May 15th, 2008 at 4:16 pm by Cara Matthews.
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Jay Gallagher has covered Albany for Gannett News Service since 1984 and has been Albany Bureau chief since 1989. He`s a native of the Boston area and likes to point out that in this millennium, the score is Red Sox 1 championship, the Yankees 0. 
Cara Matthews has been a statehouse correspondent in the Albany Bureau since August 2005. Prior to that, she covered Putnam County government and politics at The Journal News for nearly five years. Before that, she worked at newspapers in Connecticut and covered the state Legislature for one of them. 
