For Immediate Release
Date: May 10, 2007
Contact: Monica Pratt Raffanel monica@famm.org
FAMM applauds Gov. Patrick, Senate President Murray and Speaker DiMasi for their principled stand on mandatory sentencing reform
BOSTON, MASS.: Massachusetts members of Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) applaud the call for reform of the state’s mandatory minimum drug sentences today from Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray and House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi during a joint press conference announcing a supplementary budget for the state.
The remarks follow the governor's announcement in April of a comprehensive review of the state's mandatory sentencing laws, which is also supported by the attorney general and the chief justice of the state trial courts. At today's press conference, Gov. Patrick and the leadership of the Massachusetts Senate and House spoke out in favor of reform of the failed sentencing policy.
The following may be attributed to Laura Sager, national campaign director of Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), a national, nonpartisan sentencing reform organization:
"FAMM applauds Governor Patrick, Senate President Murray and Speaker DiMasi for their call for long-overdue reform of the state’s mandatory minimum drug laws. These laws have not targeted the “drug kingpins,” as envisioned by legislators when they were enacted but have, instead, targeted thousands of nonviolent, often drug addicted individuals.
"Judges should have the authority to impose sentences that fit the punishment to the crime, the individual facts in a case and the defendant’s potential for rehabilitation. Cost-effective and rigorous treatment and rehabilitation programs could save the state millions in corrections costs and reduce the human waste caused by inflexible sentences.”
FAMM members will be at the State House next week asking legislators to support the repeal of mandatory minimum drug sentences and to allow the parole board to consider some individuals convicted under the harsh laws earlier.
Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) is a national, nonpartisan nonprofit organization that advocates for fair and proportionate sentences and supports efforts to provide judges with sentencing alternatives, such as treatment and drug courts, in appropriate cases.
FAMM spearheaded a successful campaign to repeal the mandatory minimum drug sentences in Michigan, once the harshest drug laws in the nation. The repeal was supported by overwhelming bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate and signed into law in 2003 by former Governor John Engler, a conservative Republican. The change was greeted with widespread public support.
For information, visit www.famm.org or contact Monica Pratt Raffanel monica@famm.org.