We are delighted to report that yesterday's Judiciary Committee hearing was a great success. Gardner Auditorium was filled to capacity with hundreds of people, including many FAMM members, the media and state officials. See the details below on how you can help us keep moving forward to success.
Governor's support. Governor Deval Patrick urged the Committee to support his proposal for parole eligibility for drug offenders serving mandatory minimum sentences. This was the first time since mandatory minimums were enacted in Massachusetts in the early 1980's that a governor has testified in support of reform. He was followed by the Administration's top public safety officials, who spoke about the need to improve re-entry opportunities for drug offenders and to ease overcrowded prisons.
FAMM's panel. FAMM's Massachusetts Project Director, Barbara Dougan, testified in support of our bills, H.1754/S.1740 and H.1755, as well as the Governor's proposal for parole eligibility. Barbara was joined by Hon. Robert Ziemian, a pioneering drug court judge, and Bernice Williams, whose daughter Bonnie DiToro is serving a 15-year mandatory minimum. For a copy of FAMM's press release,
click here. There were also many other speakers who supported FAMM's bills, including the Massachusetts and Boston bar associations, legal and advocacy organizations, drug treatment providers and church groups.
Thank you to our members. Several dozen FAMM members braved the heat and crowds to attend the hearing. Their FAMM badges could be seen throughout the auditorium. They also visited their legislators to lobby for sentencing justice. We thank our members for their support, especially those who traveled from around the state to attend.
What happens next. The Judiciary Committee did not decide yesterday what it will do with the bills it heard. So there are no results to report yet. The Committee will now review the testimony it has received on hundreds of bills heard over the last few months. Eventually it will decide which bills should move forward. For an overview of the legislative process,
click here to download FAMM's fact sheet on how laws are made in Massachusetts. Yesterday's hearing was step #3 in the process.
Keep up the momentum! As the Judiciary Committee considers what action it will take on the sentencing reform bills before them, it is important that committee chairs Sen. Cynthia Creem and Rep. Eugene O'Flaherty hear from supporters of mandatory minimum repeal. Please cut and paste the following sample message and send to each of the email addresses listed below.
Sample message:
As a member of Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), I write to thank you for holding the Judiciary Committee's hearing on sentencing bills on July 27. FAMM and many others testified about the need to repeal mandatory minimum sentencing laws for drug offenses and to provide re-entry opportunities to those who are serving these sentences. Please give a favorable report to H.1754, An Act to Reform the "School Zone" Law for Drug Offense, and H.1755/S.1740, An Act to Repeal Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Laws for Drug Offenses.
Thank you for supporting justice in our drug sentencing laws.
[your name and address]
If you have any questions, please let us know.
Contact FAMM's Massachusetts Project.
By phone: (617) 543-0878
By e-mail:
bjdougan@famm.orgBy mail: P.O. Box 57, Newton MA 02468
Sincerely yours,
Barbara
Barbara J. Dougan
Massachusetts Project Director
Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM)