about us | college behind bars | prisoner scholars | legislative update | LEGISLATIVE UPDATEAs a member of the SMART on Crime Coalition, Partakers will focus its legislative ministry on three main policy areas in the 2007-08 legislative session:
SMART on Crime Coalition 2007-08 Fact Sheet Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Reform Legislative Priority: SB 884 – An Act Relative to Mandatory Minimum Sentencing History & Need for Change: • Twenty years ago, state and federal lawmakers began passing laws that required mandatory prison sentences for people convicted of drug offenses — regardless of the specific circumstances of each case. • Lawmakers believed that mandatory drug sentences would lock up drug kingpins and deter others from getting involved in the drug trade. • Instead of drug kingpins, low-level couriers and addicts, some with no prior criminal record, are being sentenced to harsh prison terms. •
In April 1996, under a legislative mandate, the Massachusetts
Sentencing Commission — made up of District Attorneys, Judges,
Defense Attorneys, Probation Officials, Sheriffs, Chiefs of Police and
other experts — released a unanimously adopted set of compromise
recommendations to change sentencing in •
The U.S. Sentencing Commission and the Department of Justice have
determined that Mandatory Sentences fail to deter crime, have worsened
race and gender disparities in ~ ~ ~ • Paroling non-violent drug offenders after 2/3 of their sentence will save approximately $46,000 per year, per offender. (MA Sentencing Commission) •
National and statewide research confirms that addressing issues of
addiction, education, and employment within the prison system increases
successful re-entry and can greatly reduce recidivism rates. ( What SB 884 Does: • Allows non-violent drug offenders who are serving a mandatory minimum sentence to become eligible for parole after 2/3 of their sentence has been served. • SB 884 does NOT mandate parole, ALL parole decisions will be decided on a case-by-case basis by the Parole Board. • Making offenders parole eligible allows them to be re-classified within the prison and have access to more services — such as addiction treatment, work-release, and educational programs — that they do not have access to currently.
Diversion to Treatment for Low-Level, Non-Violent Offenders Legislative Priority: HB 1912 – An Act to Amend the Commonwealth’s Drug Treatment Program to Allow for the Diversion of Low Level Offenders Under Court Supervision History & Need for Change: • In 1981, the “Drug Dependent Persons Act” (Gen. Law Ch. 111E) granted judges the authority to divert low-level drug offenders. Unfortunately, that law has lapsed into disuse. •
HB 1912 is an effort to amend this diversion law so that the courts are
better able to break the cycle of drug addiction and crime while at the
same time saving tax dollars. ~ ~ ~ • In 2001, there were over 14,000 drug arrests in • In FY 2003, 4,003 drug offenders were incarcerated, these offenders make up 25.4% of the entire population sent to a correctional facility. (MA Sentencing Commission, April 2004) • It costs taxpayers approximately $46,000 to incarcerate one prisoner per year. • If per year. (Mass DOC Cost of Incarceration minus Cost of Treatment) What HB 1912 Does: • Mandates that the Court offer a highly defined population of defendants the opportunity for treatment services. • Replaces a complicated scheme of administration to allow oversight to be performed by the existing Bureau of Substance Abuse Services. • Does not mandate the court to offer treatment if the defendant is charged with concurrent crimes or is charged with ANY crime involving a minor.
Public Safety Act 2007 (CORI Reform)
To
help create a safer Massachusetts, the Public Safety Act of 2007
integrates current legislative initiatives to reduce recidivism,
increase inmates’ access to rehabilitative programs, such as
addiction therapy and vocational training, and end the cycle of crime,
homelessness and unemployment by promoting a Criminal Offender Record
Information (CORI) system that distributes correct and pertinent data
and protects the public interest. (This Act does not pertain to sex
offenders.) The Public Safety Act of 2007 (PSA 2007) will: 1)
Require the purging of criminal records where the defendant was
erroneously charged, and establish a quasi-automatic process for
sealing CORI reports associated with such non-convictions. (This
provision would not affect the ability of public safety and judiciary
personnel to access sealed records.) 2)
Require that individuals who make hiring and housing decisions based on
CORIs should be trained on how to read and understand CORI reports. 3)
Implement a Certification of Commitment to Rehabilitation (as part of
the CORI) which would allow individuals who are incarcerated or under
community supervision to document for prospective employers or
landlords their participation in treatment and/or rehabilitative
services within the correctional system or the community. 4)
Establish that individuals serving mandatory minimum sentences shall be
eligible for parole after 2/3 of their maximum sentence has been
served, allowing the possibility of access to rehabilitation prior to
release. 5)
Reduce the waiting time before a CORI report can be sealed (currently
10 years for a misdemeanor and 15 years for a felony) to 3 years
(misdemeanor) and 7 years (felony) after final disposition of a case
(i.e, 3 or 7 years after completion of incarceration, parole,
probation, and other such supervision), provided that in the three
years prior to sealing, no conviction results in a sentence of three or
more months of incarceration. This provision, which would not affect
the ability of public safety and judiciary staff to access sealed
records, is based on data that the probability of re-offending
approaches zero after such periods of clean time. 6)
Establish that only CORI reports pertaining to convictions and open
cases shall be reported to non-criminal justice entities, (e.g.,
employers and landlords) 7)
Afford applicants for employment, training, or licensure the
opportunity to be judged on the basis of their other qualifications,
rather than being subject to preemptive disqualification by virtue of
their having a criminal record; while retaining the right of an
employer, training provider, or licensing agency to render an adverse
decision if an otherwise qualified applicant’s criminal record
included one or more convictions which substantially relate to the
circumstances of the job, training opportunity, or licensed activity.
SMART on Crime Coalition Members: Criminal Justice Policy Coalition Families Against Mandatory Minimums League of Women Voters of Massachusets National Association of Social Workers - Massachusetts Chapter Partakers, Inc. Recap of our 2005-06 Legislative Initiatives:
In the 2005-06 legislative session, many of you followed the progress of CORI reform and mandatory minimum sentencing reform. Many volunteers wrote letters, called, emailed and met with legislators in their district, and journeyed to the State House. Unfortunately, the bills we supported did not make it through the Budget Conference Committee; nonetheless our voices were heard. Our
efforts received overwhelming support in the Senate, spearheaded
by Amendment 688 lead sponsors Senator Creedon and Senator Wilkerson,
who were joined by seven additional co-sponsors, as well as Amendment
705 lead sponsor, Senator Creem, who was joined by Senators O'Leary and
Tisei. This latter amendment received bipartisan support. In
unprecedented fashion, mandatory minimum sentencing and CORI reform
advocates spoke with one voice, building a movement that could not be
ignored. In response,
Your time, energy and dedication paid off, and for that we should be proud! There is now a great deal more work to be done as we gear up for the the new legislative session and concentrate our energies on Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Reform, Diversion to Treatment and CORI Reform. Please continue to check this “Legislative Update” site for further information as it becomes available.
Remember: together we can make a difference!
PUBLIC EDUCATION RESOURCES Partakers has also compiled the following educational resources for volunteers who are interested in increasing public awareness of criminal justice issues in their congregations or the broader community.
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