DA Early Supports Compromise Criminal Justice Bill

WORCESTER, MA—Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early, Jr. offered his support for a criminal justice reform package that was approved by the State Legislature on Wednesday.

According to an announcement from Early's office, several provisions in the bill have been championed by Early for years, including expanding diversion programs for people charged with lesser crimes in district court, changes to address the opioid epidemic, increasing the effectiveness of school resource officers, as well as CORI and bail reforms.

“This bill is a great step in criminal justice reform,” Early said in a statement. “It is the product of a lot hard work by legislators and advocates for reform. My fellow DAs and I met with the legislative leadership six times in addition to testifying at six Judiciary Committee hearings from June of last year through the end of January this year.”

“It is a good bill and we look forward to implementing these reforms while working with the Governor and the Legislature to address any areas of concern moving forward,” he said.

Early started a diversion program in 2008 which has allowed young adults charged with lesser offenses for the first time to be diverted prior to arraignment. If a defendant completes eight hours of community service and an online course about alcohol and drug abuse, the defendant’s charges will be dismissed prior to arraignment, preventing one from obtaining a criminal record. The criminal justice reform bill prohibits age restrictions on diversion programs, like the one already established in Worcester County.

Several provisions within this bill address the opioid epidemic. Changes include eliminating minimum mandatory sentences for low-level drug distribution charges while maintaining tough penalties for those trafficking heroin or other synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.

The bill also makes changes to the Criminal Offender Record Information law, increasing information released about defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity. The change would allow dispositions in these cases to be made public under CORI.

Early also supports bail reforms that take the defendant’s financial resources into consideration as a means to prevent pre-trial incarceration, solely for the inability to pay, said the announcement.

Photo via Shutterstock