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Mandatory minimum
sentencing
"Let's not set people up to fail. They've already
failed; that's why [they're incarcerated]. Let's try to set them up
for success."
MBA President-elect Robert
W. Harnais, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, June
18
Harnais was quoted in a story about recommendations made in a
report of the state's Special Commission to study the Criminal
Justice System. The report recommends removing mandatory minimum
sentences for drug offenses, providing automatic eligibility for
parole outside of murder or manslaughter crimes and making parole
"presumptive" when prisoners are first eligible. MBA Chief Legal
Counsel and Chief Operating Officer Martin W. Healy and Criminal
Justice Section Vice Chair Peter Elikann, the MBA's representative
on the Commission, were also quoted in the article.
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Of note:
- MBA member Kyle R. Guelcher was featured in the monthly legal
Q&A column in the Republican/MassLive.com. ("Ask the Experts:
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act affords many protections to service
members" - June 24).
- MBA member Kenneth J. Albano, a senior partner at Bacon Wilson,
was featured by the Republican/MassLive.com on June 18 as a
recipient of the Massachusetts Bar Association's Community Service
Award. The award was presented June 11 in Springfield.