A Brooklyn lawmaker is introducing a bill that will protect young Black minors from false accusations made by racists who lack evidence of wrongdoing.
Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte, who represents the 42nd District of New York, proposed “Jeremiah’s law” on the Assembly floor after a Caucasian woman called 911 on a 9-year-old boy and falsely accused him of groping her in a Brooklyn bodega.
The bill is named for Jeremiah Harvey, who was accused of groping Teresa Klein, dubbed “Cornerstore Caroline” by social media.
Jeremiah became an Internet sensation after his story sparked outrage on social media. Surveillance video from the store shows his book bag lightly brushed against Klein.
Bichotte said Jeremiah’s Law will protect young children of color who are falsely accused.
“A situation like that with no camera, that boy, who could not even defend himself, would have probably been picked up and be detained in the juvenile system,” Bichotte said.
The bill would punish people like Klein who falsely accuse children without evidence.
“If it were not for the surveillance camera, Jeremiah who was with his mother, might have been arrested and detained in the Juvenile Court,” Bichotte says in her bill. “Ms. Klein’s behavior echoes an ugly past in our country’s history going back to the brutal torture and murder of Emmett Till. This provides a clear and tragic example of what can happen to children of color when they are presumed guilty by our society.”
