Cape & Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe
BARNSTABLE – The top law enforcement official on Cape Cod favors the House version of the criminal justice reform bill on Beacon Hill.
Lawmakers from the House and Senate are working on a single comprehensive version which would overhaul the state’s criminal justice system with a wide range of changes, from revamping the bail system to setting limits on solitary confinement.
Cape and Islands District Attorney Micheal O’Keefe said the House version is more conservative and public safety oriented and is favored by nine of the Commonwealth’s 11 DAs.
“While we want to create opportunities for defendants to reform and be successful once they serve their sentence that we also have to be cognizant of public safety,” O’Keefe said.
“And I think the House bill does a better job of that.”
Earlier this month, lawmakers in the House of Representatives passed their version of the bill by a vote of 144-9 and the Senate approved its own proposal last month 33-6.
O’Keefe praised the efforts by both chambers to make progress on the opioid front. Both versions included classifying fentanyl as a Class A substance.
“So if [an individual] is found to be distributing fentanyl, or heroin mixed with fentanyl, they can now be charged with a minimum mandatory sentence,” O’Keefe said.
“We hope that that will have some impact on the distribution of that very deadly drug in our communities as it will hopefully across the state.”
Both chambers also adopted an amendment to raise the threshold for larceny to be a felony from $250. The House version would increase the amount to $1,000 and the Senate proposal would make it a felony at $1,500.
The Massachusetts District Attorney’s Association is supportive of raising the threshold to $750. O’Keefe said $1,500 is just too high and would not be wise.
“Fifteen-hundred would make Massachusetts somewhat of an outlier and would attract into our jurisdiction these sophisticated shoplifting gangs and make us a target for them,” he said.
Other key differences between the two versions include the treatment of juveniles.
The Senate bill aims to raise the age at which juvenile court jurisdiction ends from 18 to 19, with no change in the House bill.
The House is for raising the minimum age for criminal responsibility from 7 to 10. The approved Senate version would set that age to 12.
The House has also voted to impose a one-year minimum sentence for assaulting a police officer.
O’Keefe said the process of criminal justice reform in the state is brought up every generation.
“Sometimes it is good and sometimes it is not so good,” O’Keefe said. “Sometimes we tend to throw the baby out with the bath water and that’s not a good thing.”
Discussions on reform began several years ago when the Speaker of the House, Senate President, Governor and Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court invited the Council of State Governments into the state.
The council is a nation entity related to the Pew Foundation that looks at various states’ criminal justice systems and recommends reforms.
O’Keefe was the district attorney’s representative for meetings which took place over a year.
“It was a very interesting process,” O’Keefe said.
By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
Material from the Associated Press was used in this article.
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