{"id":607089,"date":"2009-11-19T11:57:00","date_gmt":"2009-11-19T16:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"tag:criminaljustice.change.org:\/\/64e9897c49a1986702a60e320ebc7ee1"},"modified":"2009-11-19T11:57:00","modified_gmt":"2009-11-19T16:57:00","slug":"massachusetts-steps-away-from-mandatory-minimums","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/607089","title":{"rendered":"Massachusetts Steps Away from Mandatory Minimums"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-1572\" title=\"prisonbunk\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.change.org\/photos\/wordpress_copies\/criminaljustice\/2009\/11\/prisonbunk.jpg?resize=250%2C187\" height=\"187\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" \/>The Massachusetts Senate yesterday <a href=\"http:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/famm-applauds-massachusetts-senate-for-passing-sentencing-reforms-70416037.html\" >passed a bill<\/a> that would open the possibility of parole for prisoners convicted of nonviolent drug crimes. Many were sentenced under mandatory minimum laws and aren&#8217;t currently eligible for parole. Finally, amidst budget difficulties, another state is seeing the light.<\/p>\n<p>On its website, Families Against Mandatory Minimums profiles Robert Anger, a Massachusetts prisoner who could potentially be eligible for parole if the bill becomes law. Anger, from Vermont, became addicted to OxyContin as a teenager and soon transitioned to heroin. He began selling cocaine to support his habit and was arrested in Massachusetts in 2004 buying cocaine worth $15,000. He was 22 when a judge sentenced him under mandatory statute to 15 years in prison, saying &#8220;I wish I had discretion&#8221; as he did it. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.famm.org\/ProfilesofInjustice\/StateProfiles\/RobertAngerMassachusetts.aspx\" >His full story is here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Several states <a href=\"http:\/\/criminaljustice.change.org\/blog\/view\/revisiting_three-strikes_laws\" >are reevaluating mandatory minimum and three-strike laws<\/a> as they face budget shortfalls. These programs are being cut because they&#8217;re expensive, and because they don&#8217;t work. Yes, Robert made a serious mistake and he was more than a simple drug user. But he had begun to turn his life around with his family&#8217;s help <em>before his first day in prison<\/em>. His case is another example that <a href=\"http:\/\/criminaljustice.change.org\/blog\/view\/a_more_effective_probation\">a short sentence could have the same impact as long one<\/a>. We don&#8217;t need to keep him away from society for 22 years for our safety. He needed a wakeup call, and he got it. Now let&#8217;s give him another chance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Massachusetts Senate yesterday passed a bill that would open the possibility of parole for prisoners convicted of nonviolent drug crimes. Many were sentenced under mandatory minimum laws and aren&#8217;t currently eligible for parole. Finally, amidst budget difficulties, another state is seeing the light. On its website, Families Against Mandatory Minimums profiles Robert Anger, a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4821],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-607089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9NivD-2xVL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607089\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}