Crime and Punishment

This month, Mass Dissent focuses on the criminal justice system, from sentencing through prison visits to prisoner re-entry.  We also showcase a study showing how Massachusetts can save money through reforms in these areas.

Many Massachusetts prisoners should not be incarcerated in the first place, or should be serving considerably shorter sentences. Barb Dougan describes the progress being made to reform mandatory minimum sentencing laws for drug offenders.

For those who are in prison, visits from families and friends can be a life-line, and can help ease the transition to re-entry. Yet the DOC recently proposed drastic restrictions on prison visits – a move that was withdrawn, temporarily at least, in the face of public protest, as Bonnie Tenneriello describes.

A major barrier to successful re-entry, and a major cause of recidivism, is denial of jobs and housing based on a person’s criminal record. The Guild has long supported reform of Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) to make it less misleading and less available to those who don’t need it. Wilnelia Rivera tells us about the Commonwealth CORI Coalition’s efforts at reform and pending legislation.

Tying together all of the above, a recent study from the Crime and Justice Institute shows that harsh sentencing, tough parole policies, and poor re-entry planning are causing Massachusetts’ corrections and parole budgets to stay bloated, while other states have saved money by getting “smart on crime.”  Len Engel and Richard Luedeman summarize the study for us.

Joseph Donovan was sentenced to life at the age of 17 for first degree murder under the “joint venture” theory. His family shares the story of how they have joined the sentencing judge and the victim’s family to seek commutation of his sentence.

Sam Conti describes the “mean world syndrome” and how it affects public policy.

With this issue, we begin a new column, A Profile of NLG Sustainers, and present a profile of Patty Garin by David Kelston.

Last but far from least, Lee Goldstein shares a tribute to longtime Guild ally and past honoree Howard Zinn, who died on January 27.

- Bonnie Tenneriello & Barb Dougan -