Next
Meeting: Feb. 11
MCPCC
met on 1/14/'09 in West Newton. Present were Chairperson Mary Ann Donaldson,
Treasurer Tom Crowther, Secretary Marjorie Moerschner, Bill Bergquist, Toby
Frost, and Dorothy Weitzman. Mary Ann welcomed our guest speaker Lee
Gartenberg, attorney for Middlesex County inmates and a long time friend of
MCPCC. He is a member of the Section Council on Criminal Justice of the MA Bar
Association and has just finished a 5-year term as its chairman.
Lee
said that the program which started in Framingham of having social workers
involved when police are summoned to a domestic dispute has fortunately not
been eliminated. He also mentioned that the Cambridge District Court is moving
to Medford.
Lee's
talk was two-fold: 1) proposals for changes in the mandatory drug sentencing
laws, particularly as they apply to drug possession within a school zone; and
2) proposals to create an effective Diversion to Treatment program for certain
drug offenders.
These
proposals came out of the Drug Policy Task Force created by the MA Bar Assn
last spring. The Task Force involves many aspects and many people- Dorothy
Weitzman being one of those people- and its work continues. It has several
subcommittees and Lee was involved in the legislative component.
Tomorrow
David White, President of the MBA, and Lee will present the proposals to an
important meeting of the MBA House of Delegates for endorsement. These
proposals would overhaul the way people convicted of certain drug offences are
sentenced.
1) Mandatory minimum sentencing for drug possession.
Mandatory sentencing was established in the 1980s and has
been a matter of concern ever since. Mandatory sentencing is a rigid
one-size-fits-all system and it doesn't work. Conviction of drug possession in
a school zone mandates a 2-year sentence, whether or not there was any attempt
to sell the drugs. Most heavily populated cities are one big school zone. These
drug offenders are not eligible for parole, work release or good time, all
things that could help them. They go straight back to the street after serving
their mandatory 2-year sentence, without assessments, reintegration
preparation, or any supervision after release.
The
Task Force has made a number of proposals for revisions to the sentencing
provisions. These proposals are really general principles to be considered in
drawing up legislation.
They include:
Reducing the size of school zones from 1000 ft to 100 ft,
the same size as for park or playground zones.
Reducing
sentences for zone offenders to 0 to 2 years. Eliminating mandatory minimum
sentences for zone offenders.
(There would
still be stiff penalties selling drugs to minors) Allowing zone offenders to
serve a zone sentence concurrently with any other sentence he may have, instead
of consecutively as under the present law.
Allowing
prisoners serving mandatory drug sentences to participate in work release.
Allowing
prisoners serving mandatory minimum drug sentences in county Houses of
Correction to be eligible for parole after serving 1/2 of the minimum sentence,
and state prisoners with such sentences to be eligible after serving 2/3 of the
maximum sentence.
Allowing prisoners serving mandatory minimum
sentences to participate in and earn credit (good time) for educational,
treatment, and other approved programs.
Restoring suspended and split sentences, which allow judges to impose
effective sentences.
2)
Diversion to Treatment program.
Massachusetts passed a pre-trial diversion bill in
1981, Chapter 111E of the MA Gen. Laws. It provided for evaluation and not much
else, and is seldom used. The proposed reform would amend Chap. 111E.
This program would be for 1st or 2nd time non-violent drug offenders who
do not have any other charges against them. Before trial such a person can ask
to be assessed, the assessment tool to be administered by a licensed person. If
it is determined that the offender could benefit from treatment services, he
will receive them. In that case, prosecution is stayed, and if the person
succeeds in the program the case could be dismissed and he would have no
record.
Including 2nd offenders in the program is an acknowledgement of the
reality of relapses, but the program is essentially geared to intervene early
in a person's relationship with drugs.
These proposals were included in a bill filed by Rep. Martin Walsh that almost passed last year.
Several states not usually considered liberal have more progressive drug
sentencing laws than we have. Some of their reasons may be economic. Diversion
to community treatment programs is more cost-effective than incarceration. The
dire economic situation plus the passage by 650 of ballot question #2, making
the possession of small amounts of marijuana a civil offense requiring a fine rather
than criminal prosecution, may make our state legislature more willing to
rethink how we handle some drug offenses.
Many thanks to Lee Gartenberg for his presentation. We've since learned
that the House of Delegates has endorsed the proposals and the MBA will give
them its full support. Very good news!
NEXT
MEETING: Feb. 11 at 7:00 PM. Diane Morad, Legislative Liaison to the sheriff's
office, will be our guest.
Place: Second Church
in Newton, 60 Highland St., West Newton