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in this issue - May 04 |
Budget Approach to a Citizen Review Board
In concert with legislative action to establish the CRB, an
amendment to the House Budget including a number of bills
from the Joint Committee on Public Safety has been
successfully adopted and the entire House Budget awaits a
final vote, expected within the month. This amendment
includes $100,000 for a Citizen Review Board for the DOC and
language to create such a Board. This Budget is different
from the Governor's budget and those with whatever Budget
passed by the Senate will need reconciliation.
This version of a Review Board has much the same mandate
as H.2853 and H4457. However, there are two consequential
changes- the composition of the Board and an added section
focusing the attention of the Board on the conditions of
"Unit 4" employees, which includes entry level correctional
officers, sergeants and Lieutenants, all of whom are members
of the MA Correctional Officers Federated Union (MCORFU).
The "Citizens Correctional Review Board" of this budget
version would "..consist of twenty-one members as follows: 3
members appointed by the speaker of the house of
representatives, 3 members appointed by the president of the
senate, the president of the Massachusetts Sheriffs
Association or his designee, the inspector general or his
designee, the attorney general or his designee, the auditor
or his designee and 3 members appointed by the governor, one
of whom shall be the secretary of public safety, and one of
whom shall be the commissioner of the department of public
health, the chair of the parole board, a representative of
the Massachusetts Correctional Officers Federated Union, a
representative from the Massachusetts Correctional Legal
Services, a representative of the American Civil Liberties
Union of Massachusetts, League of Women Voters, a
representative from the Massachusetts Council of Churches,
the Executive Director of the Massachusetts District
Attorney Association or his designee, and a representative
of the Victim and Witness Program."
The change in composition of the Board substantively
increases the seats directly or indirectly appointed by the
Governor (3 and 4 in H.2853 and H4457 respectively) to 10.
The seats appointed by the Legislature increase from 2 in
the original two bills to 6, and the Chair of the Board is
specifically designated as filled by a member from the
Legislature. The seats from the private sector essentially
remain fixed while the Judiciary seat is eliminated
entirely. While in both H2853 and 4457, private sector
organizations representing constituencies controlled 50 % of
the seats, shy one; in the Budget version, that is reduced
to 25% less one. Continuing to call it a "Citizens" board
may be seen as somewhat misleading.
Full Text of Budget Amendment
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I am happy to report that the Annual Meeting was a total
success. We had twice the number of attendees in the
audience and Leslie Walker's presentation was riveting.
She told us all about her involvement with John Geoghan
before his death and her recommendations for needed DOC
changes.
So we are growing in strength as the year progresses.
Our increased activitiy at the statehouse and our work
in the field has contributed to this. However, the rate
at which we gain new members and reactivate old members
is not keeping pace with our expenditures. YOU CAN HELP!
Please spread the word to your friends about the value
of this organization. Encourage them to join us,
encourage them to get involved in a justice system that
impacts us all.
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Report from Norfolk Lifers Group |
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Lloyd Fillion recently visited Norfolk prison to meet
with the approximately 80 men of the Norfolk Lifers
Group. During his visit, Lloyd shared with them the work
of the CJPC, gave a detailed explanation of current
bills at the statehouse and engaged in a fascinating
dialogue about their concerns for the future.
The group stressed their concern about expanding
civil commitments for sex offenders, which they saw as a
potential precursor to extending that power over other
categories of offenders. To read about their further
concerns please go to our website.
Personal Reflections on the Lifers Group
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Critique of the Commission on Criminal Justice
Innovation Report |
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In the April newsletter, we reported on the release of
the Final Report for the Governor's Commission on
Criminal Justice Innovation and the conference to
present its findings. Members of the CJPC board were in
attendance and identified a number of key concepts
within the report as cause for concern. Among those were
an apparent desire on the part of the state to integrate
therapist reports from juveniles' therapists into the
law enforcement data banks, with little or no regard for
doctor/patient privacy rights; major emphasis on
integrating all law enforcement files, but no concern
given to the quality of the information within those
files, or possible misuse or abuse of that information,
and increased reliance on forensic technology but no
apparent increase in safeguards to vet the quality or
integrity of such evidence analysis, particularly of
concern with an increasing reliance on such evidence in
criminal trials. Other individuals representing other
organizations in attendance were equally concerned about
these and other issues.
Representatives from three organizations sent a
formal letter to Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey
detailing some of the issues, while assuring the
administration that there are many organizations and
people who are eager to work with the state to improve
our criminal justice system.
Critique of Commission Report
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Saloom Critiques Romney's "Scientific" Approach
to the Death Penalty |
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Former Executive Director and current member, Steve
Saloom provides a critique of Governor's Romney attempt
to make the Death Penalty"scientific". He has provided
us with the opening article of the National Association
of Criminal Defense Lawyers newsletter "The Champion".
For further reading on this and similar topics please
go the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
website www.criminaljustice.org
Full Article
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Directory of Resources for Ex-offenders |
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Do you have questions about resources for ex- offenders
who need help adjusting to life on this side of the
wall, or does someone you know need such assistance?
Coming Home, the new directory of resources for
ex-offenders is now available on line. It has over 300
listings with detailed information on a range of topics
from employment and housing to thrift shops and support
groups.
The guide is the result of work by the Prisoners Re-
Entry Working Group whose mission it is to provide
accurate, current information about the resources,
agencies, programs and services that will be helpful to
those released from prison.
On-Line Resource Guide for Ex-Offenders
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Save the Date |
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The CJPC will host a full-day conference tentatively
titled "Diversion from Punishment to Treatment," on
Monday, September 20, 2004, at the Hoagland-Pincus
Conference Center in Shrewsbury. A morning panel
discussion will address current practices concerning the
mentally ill and/or addicted in the state's criminal
justice system, followed by a serious of afternoon
workshops exploring alternatives to incarceration.
Workshops topics are diversion for people with mental
illness or addiction; pending legislation; post-release
needs and services for the mentally ill and addicted;
youth concerns; challenges for those dually diagnosed;
and mental health and drug courts. Further details will
be posted on our website as they become available.
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Classification and the DOC |
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It's been called one of the major needed reforms for the
Massachusetts DOC. Read more to see what the issues
really are. How big of a problem is over-classification
and what are the ramifications? How did this trend
develop and what is being done about it?
Read more to get these classification questions answered
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