Mass. Governor Wants Mandatory Minimum Reform!

Last night, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick delivered his annual State of the Commonwealth address.  He listed sentencing reform as one of his top three priorities for the year.  He made it clear that he will not sign any new habitual offender bill unless the state's Legislature also sends him a mandatory minimum bill.  “Both are important and you must send me both.” Read his full speech here, and FAMM's thoughts on it here.

The Governor went on to say:

“At the other end of the spectrum are non-violent drug offenders.  And in these cases, we have to deal with the fact that simply warehousing non-violent offenders is a costly policy failure. . .  We have moved, at massive public expense, from treatment for drug offenders to indiscriminate prison sentences, and gained nothing in public safety. . . [W]e must make non-violent drug offenders eligible for parole sooner. . . Again, for the good of the Commonwealth, send me a bill with the right reforms to both our Habitual Offender law and our mandatory minimum sentencing laws for nonviolent drug offenders.  I will not accept one without the other.”

If you live in Massachusetts, tell your state representatives that you agree with the Governor!  The Senate already passed a bill that includes mandatory minimum reforms.  We are now waiting for the House of Representatives to do the same thing. Click here to send a message to your state Representative.  Let the House know that the Governor is right.

As always, please let us know if you have any questions.


Barb Dougan
Massachusetts Project Director
Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM)