WTF is with the sick leaders of this state?
They care MORE ABOUT SEX FIENDS than they do GOOD, DECENT, TAX-PAYING CITIZENS!!!
See: Pervert's Paradise
Oh, that explains it!!!
"Bills seek to reduce stigma of criminal records; Too many are held back, say the advocates" by Vivian Nereim, Globe Correspondent | July 1, 2009
Legislators, government officials, and community organizers called for changes in the state’s criminal records law yesterday, saying that the system places an unfair burden on former offenders.
Related:
- Massachusetts Justice: Bridgewater Breakout
- Massachusetts Justice: Thanksgiving Day Stuffing
- Massachusetts Justice: Wrongful Convictions
- Massachusetts Justice: Stay Off the Road
- Massachusetts Justice: The Dartmouth Death
- Massachusetts Justice: Complaint Office
- Massachusetts Justice: FBI Sweeps Up Stoughton
- Massachusetts Justice: Briefly Sweeping Boston
- Massachusetts Justice: Cop on the Beat
- Massachusetts Justice: The McGruff of Massachusetts
WTF are they talking about?
Letting MORE MURDERS and RAPISTS on the STREETS?
At a State House rally, speakers lobbied for bills that would allow individuals’ criminal records to be sealed sooner than allowed under the law, which requires a waiting period of 10 years for misdemeanors and 15 for felonies. Supporters of changes to the Criminal Offender Record Information system said that such changes would help former offenders to find jobs and housing, reducing recidivism and saving money....
But they DON'T CARE ABOUT FORECLOSURES and UNEMPLOYMENT TOSSING PEOPLE OUT or TAX LOOT the state is WASTING!!!
Victoria Binney, who attended the rally as a past president of Ex-prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement, said she was arrested when she was 18 for driving to endanger and possession of marijuana. She was never incarcerated, but because of her record, she has been unable to find the nursing job she said she has always wanted. Instead, at age 25, she is working as a barber in Worcester....
Oh, I see!!!
The state fascistas wanted to keep ARRESTS -- not convictions, arrests -- ON THE RECORD and DESTROY a KID'S FUTURE!
FLASHBACK:
"Officials at the state's Criminal History Systems Board, said that marijuana possession arrests and convictions are records that remain visible to many employers, even if the charges were dismissed. The records of arrests alone are available to schools, law enforcement agencies, nursing homes, camps, and most companies employing someone who works with children or the elderly. Certified professional groups overseeing lawyers, doctors, nurses, plumbers, electricians, and others can review records for pending cases - before adjudication - as well as any convictions. Noncertified employers can see only convictions punishable with a jail sentence of five years or more."
Light up, Massachusetts, because YOU STINK!!!!
Under the current law, Binney will have to wait another seven years before her record can be sealed. “It’s just really discouraging for people that are trying to move on with their lives,’’ she said. Malia and other speakers contend that changing the law would provide economic benefits to the state because it would enable people to find work....
Where?
And here is the agenda-pushing paper covering these protests (they ignored the antiwar protests around the country yesterday. There was one on the town common here in my town. About 30 people).
"March today amplifies call to change rules on keeping criminal records" by Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent | July 27, 2009
The marchers, including many teenagers and some government officials and community leaders, are among a growing movement calling for change to the state’s Criminal Offender Record Information laws, known as CORI, which they say make it nearly impossible for former criminal offenders to get jobs, often returning them to a life of crime.
In liberal, FAIR-MINDED Massachusetts?
“When you’re 20 [with a CORI], you feel that the doors keep closing on you,’’ said Wilnelia Rivera, director of the Commonwealth CORI Coalition, one of several groups planning today’s march from the school, which starts at 10 a.m., to the State House. “This is an opportunity for youth to exercise their will. This is giving them something to fight for.’’
*************************************
Supporters want lawmakers to shorten the amount of time a CORI record is open, calling for a reduction from the current 10 years for a misdemeanor and 15 for a felony down to three for a misdemeanor and seven for a felony.... Reforms are vital, say community organizers, because the current system establishes a barrier keeping people with a criminal record from getting work and thus increases the chances they will return to committing crimes. One proposal calls for prohibiting potential employers from asking about a criminal record on initial job applications.
Employers would still be able to ask applicants about their criminal records and run CORI checks, later in the process....
Lewis Finfer, director of Massachusetts Communities Action Network, said removing the initial question would allow otherwise qualified applicants to be considered:
“A lot of entry-level jobs have a question, ‘Have you ever been arrested or convicted of a crime?’ and a lot of times if someone checks yes, the employer just won’t consider them. That’s important so someone doesn’t get screened out right at the beginning of the application process.’’
About 3 percent of the employers in Massachusetts have access to CORI records, said Mary Beth Heffernan, undersecretary for criminal justice in the state’s Executive Office of Public Safety. The remainder of employers get data from private companies that compile court records.
So the LEGAL SYSTEM is ALSO a BUSINESS, huh?
Their data, Heffernan said, often include information on dropped charges or cases with a not-guilty verdict.
Translation: You are GUILTY even if you are ARRESTED here in Massachusetts, folks! For ANYTHING
Instead, under the bill supported by Patrick, data would be available online, in clear language, and would be sealed automatically....
Suffolk County Sheriff Andrea J. Cabral said in a telephone interview yesterday that CORI reform will allow former offenders to get jobs and get off the streets:
“In urban communities, the jobless numbers are already significant because of the economy. It is even more difficult to get a job when you have a criminal record. And the reforms that have been proposed by the governor are, really, long overdue.’’
--more--"I sit here and type thinking, "Yeah, WHY is this even a QUESTION in this alleged 'liberal' state?"
I never realized it; however, LIBERAL FASCISM is the WORST! It POSES and PRETENDS to CARE -- unlike that other yucky party.
"Legislature hears appeals for CORI law changes; Many cite effect on job seekers" by Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent | July 28, 2009
Steven Freedman spent six months in prison, convicted eight years ago of carrying a dangerous weapon. He got a job through a work-release program and held it for seven years, he said, before a serious illness forced him to quit.
When he looked for work again, his past kept getting in the way.
“With so many jobs, I’d be talking, and they’d say, ‘You have the skills; fill out an application,’ ’’ Freedman told the Legislature’s Joint Committee on the Judiciary, which held a packed hearing yesterday on three bills that would alter the state’s Criminal Offender Record Information system.
Once prospective employers found out about his record, “I never got a call back,’’ said Freedman, 47, who now works for the city of Worcester to help people leaving prison get jobs. The three CORI bills under consideration call for several changes that would make it easier for former offenders to find work....
Where is this "work" they keep talking about?
--more--"
"Senate to take up crime records; Change may help ex-inmates in job search" by Jonathan Saltzman and Andrea Estes, Globe Staff | November 18, 2009
The state Senate plans to vote today on wide-ranging criminal justice legislation that would make it easier for inmates to get jobs after their release from prison, a change that Deval Patrick promoted during his campaign for governor.
The 30-page bill - which loosens the state’s criminal offender record information system, or CORI - has been pushed by advocates, who argue that former prisoners are often unable to get work because potential employers check their records and refuse to hire them.
The legislation would limit employers’ access to the criminal record of potential employees. A separate provision would let nonviolent drug offenders apply for parole before serving the minimum amount of time required for the crime under stringent drug laws.
Isn't it TIME to DECRIMINALIZE WEED, dammit?
Especially when we VOTED FOR IT 2-to-1!?
Currently, those inmates cannot apply for parole until after they have reached that threshold. Inmates released from prison would also be subject to postrelease supervision for up to two years, if they are not already on parole or probation.
Related: State Government On Probation
That makes sense now, huh?
State Senator Cynthia Stone Creem, who championed the provision to let prison inmates apply for parole after completing part of their sentence, said the entire bill would help offenders adust to life on the streets, land jobs, and stay out of trouble.
“The buzzword now is being smart on crime,’’ said Creem, a Newton Democrat and Senate chairwoman of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, who cited a financial benefit, as well. She said that making nonviolent drug offenders eligible for early release would save the Commonwealth $10 million to $15 million a year. If the bill passes the Senate, it could be taken up by the House later today, according to Representative Eugene L. O’Flaherty, House chairman of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary.
I never heard back on it, readers.
“From a general point of view, I am not averse to reforming CORI,’’ said O’Flaherty, a Chelsea Democrat. “As a matter of fact, the draft I’ve seen I would probably agree with wholeheartedly.’’
Patrick is encouraged by the bill’s progress in the Senate, said Kyle Sullivan, a spokesman for the governor, but will not commit to signing any legislation until he sees it. “The last two years has offered a tremendous opportunity for an exchange of ideas on what the best ways are to increase both employment opportunities and the public’s safety,’’ Sullivan said.
He hasn't seen my Massachusetts Justice posts!!!
The bill appears to have the support of several organizations that lobby lawmakers on behalf of current and former prisoners as well as Associated Industries of Massachusetts, a group that lobbies on behalf of employers. Top prosecutors have endorsed it as well, including Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley.
Then it's assured of passage. All the special interests behind it?
The centerpiece of the bill is the changes it would make to the state’s CORI laws. For years, people convicted of crimes have complained that it is hard, if not impossible, to land jobs after prison because employers check their criminal records in the system and refuse to hire them....
And it is NOT JUST CONVICTION! It is FALSE ARRESTS, too!!!
Horace Small, executive director of the Union of Minority Neighborhoods and a proponent of CORI reform, said of the new legislation: “I like the bill; it’s a step forward. Small Sealing criminal records is very important for people to get a second chance.’’
The legislation would also please critics of mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses. Although the bill would not do away with such sentences, it would let convicted offenders apply for parole after completing two-thirds of minimum prison sentences and half of jail sentences.
Then it DOES NOT PLEASE US, Glob!
About 2,500 convicted drug offenders in the state are serving mandatory minimum sentences under Draconian drug laws that date back to the 1980s, said Barbara J. Dougan, Massachusetts project director for Families Against Mandatory Minimums.
Tryanny has COSTS YOU NEVER DREAM OF, America!!
It's why I KEEP YELLING AT YOU!!!!
And to think we have WAR CRIMINALS and LYING LOOTERS walking around free!!!!
More than half are effectively barred from applying for parole because their mandatory minimum sentence is only one day less than their full sentence. “We’ve got too many people serving long prison sentences who don’t need to be there,’’ Dougan said. “And the taxpayers are footing an enormous bill for this.’’
Aaaaaah, we $EE why this is so now!!!!
Yup, and NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE who DESERVE TO BE IN THERE!!!
All because we MUST KEEP POT-SMOKERS in PRISON!!!!
Advocates for sentencing changes are worried, however, because some lawmakers support making laws more stringent. Representative Bradford R. Hill, Republican of Ipswich, has sponsored a “three strikes and you’re out’’ bill that would eliminate parole for habitual offenders, and a Senate aide said a similar bill could be proposed from the floor in that chamber today.
Did he do the Hitler goosestep as he introduced it, or.... ?
Dougan said such a measure would undermine the Senate bill and would be “totally contrary to the national trend to not pack our prisons full of people who should not be there.’’
Yeah, plus he DOESN'T CARE about the KIDS, huh?
--more--"
Related: Mun Murder Cover-Up Complete
Strange how SOME KIDS get OFF, huh?
More FASCISM from Massachusetts for you!
"Stopping the snooping of police databases" by Carol Rose and Michael German | May 12, 2009
Carol Rose is executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. Michael German, a former FBI agent, is policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union.
INFORMATION is power and law enforcement seems hungry for both. A recent report that police in Massachusetts pried into personal information about movie stars and sports heroes by trolling the Criminal Offender Record Information system is the latest example of the abuse that occurs when police and other government agencies have unchecked power to collect, use, and even share personal data about citizens.
Welcome to AmeriKa!!!
This kind of abuse doesn't stop with the stars, and it doesn't stop with CORI. The misuse of law enforcement databases, as reported by the state auditor, can have serious consequences for ordinary residents as well as celebrities. Unmonitored access to poorly regulated databases gives power to local law enforcement to pry into and share information about innocent people and potential criminals alike. Why would snoops stop at the latest kiss-and-tell among the stars? A curious officer might want to look up a new friend or an old enemy.....
There's nothing in place to stop a return to the bad old days when police and other government agencies had unchecked power to compile dossiers on their political and personal enemies, and to turn that information over to potential employers, potential landlords, and potential lenders.
This is ALREADY HAPPENING, so WTF, ACLU?
The threat goes beyond the CORI records database. CORI is just one of many databases and information-sharing systems built and operated by the Criminal History Systems Board and accessed at the so-called "Commonwealth Fusion Center." The audit report indicated police improperly searched for state and federal criminal records, FBI National Crime Information Center records, probation records, motor vehicle records, and firearms purchase records accessible through the Criminal Justice Information System. Other databases are being developed and rolled out at the Boston Regional Intelligence Center and through a combined local-FBI law enforcement hybrid known as the "Joint Terrorism Task Force." Who is going to audit these entities?
These centers are part of a nationwide network of nearly 70 "intelligence-sharing" centers that have sprung up around the country, operating with little or no independent oversight and with overlapping lines of authority between federal and state agencies, under the auspices of a National Strategy for Information Sharing....
The latest in a series of scandals involving these centers. At the Los Angeles County Terrorism Early Warning Center, for example, a group of military reservists and law enforcement officers reportedly engaged in a years-long conspiracy to steal highly classified intelligence files from a US Marine Corps base and the US Northern Command headquarters that "pertained to surveillance of Muslim communities in South California."
Meanwhile, the Boston Police Department is reported to have embraced a new system in which officers fill out "terror tip" sheets to report "suspicious" activities that some of us would consider commonplace, such as taking photographs of public buildings or espousing "extreme" beliefs (whatever that means).
Please, DO NOT VACATION in BOSTON!!!
Go ANYWHERE but HERE!
These reports are forwarded to fusion centers and accessible to a host of government agencies. Similar programs in other states led the police to detain a photography student who was taking pictures of the US flag in front of a Veterans Administration building in New York as part of a class project, and to handcuff and question a 54-year-old artist and professor for taking photographs of power lines in Washington. Presumably, they, and other innocent people, are now permanently part of this nationwide system of searchable - but unregulated - police databases....
We are ALL PERVERTS NOW, huh?
