Conley opens the door to repeal of some mandatory minimums

Here is the statement provided on October 3, 2017, by Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley on the Senate criminal justice reform bill:

“Massachusetts has among the lowest violent crime and incarceration rates in the country and both continue to fall.  We are already doing a lot of things right, but we can always do better. One area where we need to improve is reducing recidivism and this bill does a good job addressing that. I also see some promising ideas to improve our bail statutes, remove barriers to successful re-entry, and eliminate fines and fees on low-income defendants. I do not support mandatory minimum sentences for low-level, non-violent drug offenders, so I have rarely enforced school zone charges. I’m open to both eliminating those and rethinking second and subsequent drug distribution charges when the quantities are minor. There are certainly some aspects of the bill I am concerned about, and others, such as the ideal felony threshold for larceny, that are really just a question of finding the right balance point. I am looking forward to seeing what the House offers, as well, and seeing what we can all do together to keep Massachusetts a justice leader for the nation.”