Monday, June 19 at 1:00pm, the Joint Committee on the Judiciary will again hold a hearing at which dozens of bills concerning criminal justice reform will be heard. Earlier this year, Governor Baker filed a bill, An Act Implementing the Joint Recommendations of the Massachusetts Criminal Justice Review (H.74). This bill primarily addresses “back-end” reforms, or reforms that aim to reduce recidivism.
MassINC is committed to achieving comprehensive reform criminal justice reform this session, and we believe that lawmakers need to address sentencing, diversion, and in-prison programming with a real sense of urgency. Maps of both Boston and Worcester illustrate the crippling effect of our current criminal justice system on particular neighborhoods. These communities are the experts in how the effects of incarceration are contributing to a public health crisis in our increasingly vulnerable neighborhoods.
Other bills to be heard include, An Act Eliminating Mandatory Minimum Sentences Related to Drug Offenses (H.741), An Act Providing Community-Based Sentencing Alternatives for Primary Caretakers of Dependent Children Convicted of Non-Violent Crimes (H.3072), and several bills concerning issues such as parole, solitary confinement, medical release, and telephone service for inmates. A full list of bills to be heard is available here. The Joint Committee on the Judiciary is chaired by Senator Will Brownsberger and Representative Claire Cronin.