Thursday, January 23, 2014
Press Release Regarding Parole for Juveniles Convicted of 1st Degree Murder
Today I distributed the following press release regarding a
bill I filed with a coalition of legislations that would set parole at 35 years
for juveniles convicted of 1st degree murder:
Boston- Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr
(R-Gloucester) and State Senator Barry Finegold (D-Andover) have joined with a
coalition of legislators including Senators Richard Ross (R-Wrentham), Donald
Humason (R-Westfield), James Timilty (D-Walpole), Richard Moore (D-Uxbridge),
Eileen Donoghue (D-Lowell) and Joan Lovely (D-Salem), and Representative
Theodore Speliotis (D-Danvers) in filing legislation requiring juveniles
convicted of first degree murder to serve a minimum of 35 years before becoming
eligible for parole.
The legislative measure comes on the heels of a 2012 United
States Supreme Court decision stating that it is cruel and unusual punishment
for states to require all juveniles who commit the crime of murder to be
sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, and a decision
made last year by the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling that all juveniles
convicted of first degree murder under the age of 18 must be eligible for
parole.
“In the wake of court decisions eliminating life without
parole for these offenders, we must act now to ensure that those murderers
serve the sentences their crimes deserve, and that we protect public safety
from their premature release,” said Senator Tarr. “If we must consider
parole in these cases, it must be done with respect to victims and their
families and the security of our communities as much as to the rights conferred
by the judiciary.”
The bipartisan, bicameral bill, which meets the
recommendation of District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett and the Massachusetts
District Attorneys Association, was filed on Tuesday and currently has a total
of 22 sponsors. More legislators are expected to sign-on to the public
safety bill before the deadline of Friday, January 31st at 5:00pm.
“The Supreme Court said that it is cruel and unusual
punishment that a juvenile would have to spend their life behind bars without
parole, but it is also cruel and unusual punishment that after only 15 years
and every 5 years thereafter, a victim’s family would have to relive such a
horrible tragedy,” said Senator Finegold.
Currently, due to the courts’ recent rulings, Massachusetts
now requires parole eligibility of 15-25 years after a first degree murder
conviction, which is the same period for a second degree murder
conviction. The new process will now allow families of victims to appear
before the parole board to provide testimony and relive the tragic details
concerning the death of a loved one, making it difficult to ever truly recover
from such a horrific event.
The family of Beth Brodie said “Serving fifteen years of a
life sentence does not seem like a reasonable punishment for a killer of any
age. Could we find a number of years that’s more reasonable? No we
don’t think we could, but this feels like a slap in the face. Preparing
for parole hearings forces us to re-live the worst days of our lives. The
pure and innocent are paying the price for the evil and twisted. We seek
justice, justice for Beth Brodie, justice for all families involved.”
“Lost in the decision of the Supreme Judicial Court is justice
for victims and those that mourn such devastating losses. We are thankful for
this effort to right a great injustice for victims and their families. It is
our hope that Senator Finegold’s proposal will pass the legislature and be
signed into law so that those convicted of first degree murder serve longer
sentences before they are eligible for parole and therefore prevented from
harming others,” said the Ritzer family.
Once the deadline has past, the bill will be assigned to a
committee for further action.
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