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Lawmakers push for passage of
Jonathan's Law February
19, 2007
By Web Staff
WATCH VIDEO
County
governments are calling on lawmakers at the Capitol to pass
Jonathan's Law. The bill is named after a 13-year-old autistic boy
who died last week while under the care of two health care workers.
Last week, Jonathan Carey of
Glenmont suffocated after being physically restrained by a worker
from the O.D. Heck Developmental Center in Niskayuna.
Edwin Tirado, 35, and Nadeem Mall,
32, both of Schenectady, have been charged with second-degree
manslaughter.
The death of a 13-year-old autistic
boy is prompting county lawmakers to renew calls for the passage of
Jonathan's Law.
Police said the two aides were
taking Carey and another boy to Crossgates Mall when they stopped at
Hannaford on Wolf Road in Colonie.
Police said Carey acted up and
Tirado restrained him. At some point, Carey stopped breathing.
Police said Tirado and Mall went shopping at Mohawk Commons, leaving
the boy in the car. Police said Tirado and Mall waited an
hour-and-a-half before calling for help. Carey was later pronounced
dead at St. Clare's Hospital.
The Rensselaer County Legislature
is now calling on state lawmakers to take action and pass the bill.
If it passes, the law would give
parents the right to access their children's records. Right now that
information cannot be released and acts of abuse can be concealed
from families.
Carey's family has been trying to
get a law passed since 2004 after they said their son was being
mistreated at a Dutchess County facility.
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