Fact-checking the district attorneys

MassINC researchers review mandatory minimum claims

AT MONDAY’S JUDICIARY COMMITTEE HEARING on criminal justice reform legislation, District Attorneys Joseph Early of Worcester County, Timothy Cruz of Plymouth County, and Michael Morrissey of Norfolk County testified in opposition to the elimination of mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes. Their testimony drew heavily on talking points prepared by the Massachusetts District Attorney’s Association

Mandatory minimum drug sentences costly mistake

DA talking points obscure real issues

SUPPORTERS OF MANDATORY minimum sentences for drug crimes are circulating a set of disconnected talking points on Beacon Hill that obscure the real issues. The debate is heating up as the Legislature prepares to hold hearings this month on bills that would eliminate Massachusetts laws requiring judges to impose a prison term of a specified

Activists interrupt criminal justice meeting

Advocates worried reform bill won’t address sentencing issues

CHANTING “JOBS NOT JAIL,” advocates for criminal justice reform briefly disrupted the final meeting of a state criminal justice policy commission today, part of a growing chorus of voices expressing concern that state leaders are preparing to put forward legislation that won’t include major changes to sentencing laws. The protest came as advocates and lawmakers

Drug Sentencing Opponents Say Poll Shows Public Agrees With Them

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A majority of Massachusetts voters want to repeal mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses and an even larger percentage supports shifting resources from jails to drug addiction treatment programs, according to a poll commissioned by an advocacy group. Commissioned by Families Against Mandatory Minimums and conducted by the Suffolk University Political

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MASSINC’S TESTIMONY BEFORE THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY REGARDING COMPREHENSIVE CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Winthrop Roosevelt wroosevelt@massinc.org (617) 224-1625 Testimony Regarding Comprehensive Criminal Justice Reform In Massachusetts Provided to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary June 9, 2015 Benjamin Forman MassINC Thank you Chairman Brownsberger, Chairman Fernandes and members of the committee for an opportunity to share some ideas on comprehensive criminal justice reform at

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