MCPCC met on March 14, 2007 in West Newton. Those present were Mary Ann
Donaldson, Carol Winton, David Berkley, Tom Crowther, Toby Frost, Marjorie
Moerschner, Lynne Sullivan, Dorothy Weitzman and Elizabeth Woodbridge. Our
guest speaker was Attorney Lee Gartenberg. Lee provides legal services for
inmates at Billerica House of Correction and the Cambridge Jail and is a
long-time friend of MCPCC.
Billerica
Superintendent Martin Gabriella specifically asked Lee to tell us that
Billerica has started a family counseling program. This is very good news,
something we've long wanted to see in place! Under the new program, family
members meet with the inmate and a social worker at the prison to work out
problems. To establish or reestablish strong
family support is a part of the overall theme of
reintegration.
Reintegration needs to start as soon as a man enters
prison,
And this is now happening at Billerica. The new Canadian assessment tool administered
to inmates after they enter gives good information about their problems and
needs and how to address them. Lee hopes that that creative thinking will also
be part of the process. Case managers administer the assessment, make a plan
for the prisoner based on it and monitor him closely throughout his time in
prison. When he leaves he will have a reentry plan in place. The overall plan
involves many facets, including psychological services, job services and
parole, and the plan can be adjusted as needed. The prison has hired a number
of well qualified new case managers. Caseworkers continue to deal with
warrants, paper work, etc., affecting prisoners.
CORI is part of reintegration also, since it affects a person's life after prison in so many ways. CORI (Criminal Offender Record Information) contains complete information about a person's involvement with the criminal justice system from arraignments following arrests to disposition of the cases. Over the years CORI has grown into something of a monster, and there is increasing awareness that reform is needed. Lee brought us a reform proposal endorsed by the MA Bar Ass'n Criminal Justice Section Council. This proposal originated from work done by the MA Bar Ass'n Criminal Justice Committee, which Lee chairs. It deals with access, accuracy, and the sealing of old records.
Access. Originally designed to protect privacy, now almost
anyone can get access to CORI records. This information affects a person's
ability to get a job, to get into treatment programs, housing, college, even
into a homeless shelter. Law enforcement, courts, police, corrections people-
should have access. Access to the general public should have limitations so
that only guilty verdicts (or adjudications of youthful offenders) and the
crime the individual was actually convicted of as well as any current charges
would be available. Dismissals, not guilty findings, original charges if
different from the guilty finding would not be
included. Since CORIs use codes and cumbersome language, they're difficult to
understand and easy to misinterpret. Information on how to read them
should be given to anyone requesting a CORI.
Furthermore, CORIs should be rewritten in clear, plain English. We hope this
isn't a lost art.
Accuracy.
Mistakes can be made when an innocent person's name and birth date coincide
with that of a person who has a CORI record; the burden is on the innocent
person to prove in court he's not the one in the CORI. A fingerprint included
with CORI information is a good way to verify identity. This is done in some
states but not in Massachusetts. The Commonwealth should have a process for
correcting mistakes, as credit companies have, and like credit companies,
should assume the burden of proof that a record is accurate.
CORIs nationwide should have a uniform system of entering
information and of verification. It should show if a charge was dismissed or
reduced so that the record will reflect what actually happened. In addition
there should be a process- there isn't one now- to purge information about a
charge if the charge was dismissed or the defendant found not guilty because he
was mistakenly identified or the alleged crime never occurred.
Sealing old records. At present records can be sealed after 10 years or a
misdemeanor and 15 years for a felony, assuming the person has had no further
contact with the criminal justice system. The Bar Association would like to see
this time shortened. A person who has been doing well should not be penalized
for a crime committed and paid for many years ago. Law enforcement would still
have access to the sealed material.
Unfortunately
CORI information is now on the internet. The SJC is wrestling with this issue.
Mandatory sentencing tends to work against reintegration. This is particularly apparent in the School Zone statute- anyone convicted of selling drugs in a school zone (not necessarily to school children) receives a mandatory 2-year sentence without the possibility of parole and without the possibility of getting into work release. A crowded urban area, like most of Lowell for example, is pretty much all a school zone, so this statute falls unfairly on inner city youths, the ones who would benefit most from supervised programs like parole or work release. This type of mandatory sentence actually encourages recidivism.
Mandatory sentencing does not allow the courts to
formulate sentences appropriate to the individual offender. Lee advocates a
return to the use of suspended and split sentences. In a suspended sentence an
individual is put on probation instead of going to prison. If he violates his
parole he goes to prison. Suspended sentences are still given at the county
level, but are no longer an option at the state level. A split sentence can be
3-5 years, with one year to be served in prison and the rest on probation,
again with a violation to result in prison.
The courts also need more flexibility in handling parole violations. At present any parole violation results either in continuing probation or in the entire sentence being served in prison. Depending on the individual and the nature of the violation, this may be either too lenient or too severe. Classification made when a person enters prison should include parole when he has met certain benchmarks. If he doesn't meet them, the plan should be modified, with benchmarks to be met by the time of the next parole hearing.
It's taking too long to get
action on fixing mandatory sentencing.
It costs $2000. to
$8000. a year to supervise someone on work release or day reporting status and
the results are generally good. It costs $30,000 to $40,000 to keep someone in
a house of correction for the same amount of time.
Sheriffs have set up
offices of Community Corrections in their counties for those on parole or day
reporting. These provide drug testing, job counseling and other services.
Middlesex has one in Cambridge and one in Lowell, where MCPCC held its Art
Show. These centers are very reintegration-effective; they're also
cost-effective, and could be put to greater use.
The Parole Board wants people applying for parole to express
contrition for their crime. This can be counter-productive for a person whose
case is under appeal. In general the Parole Board has moved toward granting
more parole, under conditions, which will help a parolee to succeed. Some
prisoners prefer not to apply for probation. They're afraid they won't get it,
they don't want to make the effort, or they just want to wrap (serve) their
sentence and get back on the street sooner and without supervision, If they're
in prison under a mandatory sentence for a school zone violation, of course,
they don't have the choice of parole. Being back on the street without
resources or supervision is a good way to ensure a return trip to jail.
Probation, with supervision, is an effective reintegration plan. Some of the
good things that are being talked about now are similar but more sophisticated
versions of good things that were actually happening in the 70's, before a
back-to-the rock pile mentality entered the justice system. The sad part is
that many needed good things like CORI reform and changes in mandatory
sentencing are still waiting to happen.
Lee noted that MCPCC is celebrating its 25th year and that he has been providing legal services to Middlesex inmates for 25 years! He has been coming to talk to us about justice issues almost every year since then; we always look forward to these talks and very greatly appreciate them. Many thanks, Lee!
NEXT MEETING: APRIL 11, 2007 at 7 PM (a
business meeting) SECOND CHURCH IN NEWTON 60 HIGHLAND STREET, WEST NEWTON