Contact: Peter Lowbar Chair, Social Action Arlington St. Church plowber@hotmail.com

Help make 2009 the year for sentencing reform. (Sample letter below)

In April, New York lawmakers declared the “war on drugs” a failure and enacted major reforms that focus on treatment rather than lengthy prison terms. Massachusetts can do the same thing. FAMM filed two bills to reform mandatory minimum sentencing laws.

► Our general repeal bill was filed in both the House and Senate. It is called “An Act to Repeal Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Laws for Drug Offenses.” The House version is H. 1755; the Senate version is S. 1740. This bill would repeal all mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses. It would also allow drug offenders, including those now in prison, to apply for parole, work release and “good time” credits.

► Our school zone bill, H. 1754, was filed in the House. It is called “An Act to Reform the School Zone Law for Drug Offenses.” This bill would reduce the size of drug-free school zones to 100 feet, get rid of the mandatory prison sentence, and allow school zone sentences to be served at the same time as a sentence for the underlying offense. In addition, school zone penalties would no longer apply to drug sales that take place in private residences, although the drug offense itself would still be illegal.

In addition, Governor Patrick recently filed a crime prevention bill that would allow some drug offenders currently serving mandatory minimum sentences to apply for parole. The Governor used the language that Sen. Cynthia Creem previously filed: if two-thirds of the maximum sentence is less than the mandatory minimum, then the prisoner can apply for parole after serving the two-thirds. The Governor’s bill would also allow state prisoners to take part in work release programs and newly-created “community work crews.”

Write to your legislators. Please send letters to your state representative and senator, telling them why you support our bills and the Governor’s proposal. Letters make more of an impact than e-mails or phone calls. The sample letter is below.

If you don’t know who your legislators click here.

Next step: Judiciary Committee hearing. These bills have been assigned to the Judiciary Committee, which will hold a public hearing that you can attend. If you would like to receive our updates, please sign up for FAMM’s e-mail alerts at the address shown below.

Barbara J. Dougan
Massachusetts Project Director

FAMM Massachusetts Project • P.O. Box 57 • Newton, MA 02468 • Tel: (617) 543-0878
Email: bdougan@famm.org • http://www.famm.org