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 5:00 p.m.
“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.
