SUPPORTERS PUSH BILL TO ALLOW PAROLE FOR SOME DRUG OFFENDERS

BOSTON- Sean Glynn readily admits his brother deserved to be punished
after being busted with cocaine, but Glynn says the five-year
mandatory sentence is too much for a man who admits his mistake, has
cleaned up his habit and had no prior record.

"He is the first person to admit he broke the law," Glynn said of his
29-year-old brother, Patrick, who has served about a year of his
sentence at Baystate Correctional Center. "We just think he's the
ideal candidate for parole."

Under current sentencing laws, Patrick Glynn is not eligible for
parole. That could change under legislation being pushed on Beacon
Hill that would allow drug offenders serving mandatory minimum
penalties to seek parole after serving two-thirds of their sentences.

Supporters say the state is late in catching a national trend toward
reforming mandatory sentencing rules. Allowing parole for these
inmates could save the state $10 million to $15 million a year, while
ensuring the drug offenders wouldn't be released back to the streets
without supervision, said sponsor Sen. Cynthia Creem, D-Newton.

Mandatory sentences have not served as the deterrent for drug crimes
that supporters had anticipated, nor have they kept drugs away from
schools, Creem said.

"The only thing they have done really is clog our prisons and house of
corrections and wasted millions of dollars and denied post-release
supervision to a class of criminals that need it the very most," Creem
said at a news conference Thursday.

About 2,000 of the state's 22,000 prisoners are currently serving
mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses, and about 650 of them
would immediately be eligible for parole under the bill. The bill is
among many sentencing reforms being considered by the Joint Criminal
Justice Committee, and has the support of the Senate chairman, Sen.
Thomas McGee, D-Lynn.

However, the House chairman, Rep. James Vallee, D-Franklin, has
serious concerns about the legislation. He is working on a sentencing
guidelines bill that would cover all crimes.

"To let these people out on the street that are going to use more
drugs, there's definitely a public safety cost associated with it,"
said Vallee. "Yes, it's expensive (to house inmates in prison), but
what is the alternative? The alternative might be an increase in crime."

Currently, an offender convicted in Massachusetts of distributing 200
grams of cocaine would get a minimum of 15 years in prison. Under
federal guidelines, a mandatory minimum term is not in effect until
the amount reaches 500 grams, and then the sentence is five years.

The Massachusetts Sentencing Commission - a panel of prosecutors and
defense attorneys - and the Boston Bar Association have each
recommended changes in the drug sentencing guidelines. And 25 states
have taken steps away from mandatory drug sentencing, including at
least five that have repealed them altogether.

"Mandatory sentencing is an idea whose time has passed," said Bill
Leahy, executive director of the Committee for Public Counsel Services.

Public Safety Secretary Edward Flynn has said mandatory sentencing
guidelines are not working. Eric Fehrnstrom, a spokesman for Gov. Mitt
Romney, declined to comment on the bill or the governor's position on
reforming sentencing laws. He said the governor's crime commission
planned to release new strategies for fighting crime next week.

The bill does have its supporters.

"This is a baby step but it's a critical first step to begin to get
some kind of hold on the escalating thousands we spend on the prison
system, dollars that are not necessary to ensure the public safety,"
said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers' Foundation.

"These prisoners are good candidates for parole," said Leslie Walker,
executive director of the Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services.
"They do not need to be warehoused in prison at a cost of over $45,000
per prisoner per year when cities and towns are laying off policemen,
fire fighters and teachers."