Wendy Murphy: The pandemic is no excuse to free predators

Criminal defense attorneys are using coronavirus as an excuse to force the release of thousands of prisoners in Massachusetts, even if they have long criminal records as murderers and rapists, and even if, like the rest of us, they won’t likely get very sick, if they get sick at all.

During an hours-long hearing Tuesday before the Supreme Judicial Court, lawyers for the prisoners said it was inhumane to expose prisoners to a potentially fatal disease, and that it was better for their health to let them out. The word “victim” was barely mentioned, which says a lot.

Many crime victims in Massachusetts are experiencing serious health problems right about now — and I don’t mean coronavirus, I mean terroristic fear and anxiety that the men who raped, strangled or tried to kill them may show up on their front steps tomorrow.

Nearly every district attorney opposed the wholesale release of prisoners, calling it unnecessary and dangerous. Massachusetts already barely incarcerates anyone. Those behind bars are for the most part the ones with very long records, or who committed especially heinous crimes. Approximately 16,000 people are currently locked up. We are not talking about shoplifters and trespassers.

The defense lawyers want the SJC to release prisoners held on “unaffordable bail,” or “whose bail has been revoked for a technical violation,” irrespective of the crime they committed.

Other categories they want released include inmates over 60. We have murderers and child rapists incarcerated in Massachusetts who are over 60.

The district attorneys rightly argue that the decision to release a prisoner should be made on a case-by-case basis, not a categorical one, and that this is already happening. Prisoners are filing petitions for release every day based on coronavirus, and judges are making appropriate decisions, often ruling in favor of prisoners. The existing procedures are working.

Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe is adamant that wholesale release of prisoners is an exceedingly bad idea. He also told me it would be illegal for the SJC to order their release because of a little-known law from 1950 that says only the governor can release prisoners during an epidemic.

The SJC should respect the separation of powers doctrine and let Charlie Baker decide whether coronavirus compels him to open the prison gates.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2UOweRe