Tuesday, August 7, 2012
That's what the majority of people who took last week's poll said.
Last week, Melrose Patch asked you whether or not Gov. Deval Patrick should have signed the "three strikes"/Melissa's Bill without an amendment that increased judicial discretion or veto the entire thing. Here's the breakdown of the results: Todd Perry said in the comments section that "Deval patrick signed the bill for one reason. He had to or he would be unelectable and of no value to Obama as a campaigner. people are sick and tired of reading about repeat offenders committing horrendous crimes." What do you think of the results of the poll? Tell us in the comments section below.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Patrick had two options: sign the bill without the amendment or veto the entire thing.
Gov. Deval Patrick set in motion a wave of criticism when he proposed an amendment to the "three strikes"/Melissa's Bill on the grounds that it lacked sufficient provisions for judicial discretion. Dubbed "Melissa's Law," after Melissa Gosule, the 27-year-old Jamaica Plain schoolteacher who was raped and murdered in 1999 by a felon who had 27 previous convictions, the bill eliminates parole for someone convicted three times of one of 40 or so violent crimes, with at least one conviction having carried a minimum three-year prison term. It was was passed in both chambers last week by an overwhelming margin. Warning of possible unintended "unjust consequences" that can arise from mandatory sentencing laws, Patrick wrote in a letter to the …
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Patrick calls the bill "a good start."
Gov. Deval Patrick on Tuesday ended speculation that he might kill the mandatory sentencing bill he had objected to but the Legislature supported. Calling the bill "a good start," Patrick said he would sign it but wants to see changes made to it in the next legislative session. "I still believe there is a necessary role for judicial discretion when it comes to sentencing and many of the advocates of this bill have pledged to support that next year," he wrote on his website Tuesday. "The Senate President and the Speaker have pledged to return to the subject of mandatory minimum sentencing early in the next session. I take them at their word." As it stands, the so-called "three strikes" bill, also dubbed "Melissa's Law" after a Jamaica Plain…
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Massachusetts State House
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After Tuesday, the House and Senate will not have an opportunity to override any veto.
Although the legislative session ends Tuesday at midnight, Gov. Deval Patrick has 10 days to sign any bills that land on his desk. But anything he vetoes cannot be overridden since the Legislature will have adjourned. Perhaps the most-watched bill in this scenario is the mandatory sentencing bill, also called the "three-strikes" law or "Melissa's Bill," over which the governor and Legislature have locked horns. The bill eliminates parole for someone convicted three times of one of 40 or so violent crimes, with at least one conviction having carried a minimum three-year prison term. Melrose's state legislators, Sen. Katherine Clark and Rep. Paul Brodeur, both previously voted in favor of the bill before it was sent to the governor's desk…
42.35763
-71.063499
24 Beacon St, Boston, MA
Massachusetts State House
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Todd Perry
8:30 pm on Sunday, August 5, 2012
There are no excuses for crime. Many are poor, most are not criminals. Many are alcoholic. Few commit crime. The common link for criminals is that they are lazy and want an easy way. It is always their fault, and they deserve punishment for the harm they do and the damage they cause with their selfishness and lack of empathy. Deval patrick signed the bill for one reason. He had to or he would be … more ›