BOSTON, July 26 MA-FAMM-reform-cmpgn
BOSTON, July 26 /PRNewswire/ -- A new report shows that Massachusetts'
drug-free zone laws fail to improve children's safety and are a driving force
behind the increased incarceration of minorities and the poor. Authored by
the Prison Policy Initiative, a Northampton-based nonpartisan think tank, "The
Geography of Punishment" analyzed the impact of drug-free zone laws on urban
and rural communities, using data from Hampden County. It found that
drug-free zone laws do not accomplish their intended goal of improving
children's safety and directly translate to greater rates of incarceration for
black, Latino, urban and poor defendants because the zones blanket urban
areas.
Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), a national, nonpartisan
organization working for fair and proportional sentencing laws, says that
Massachusetts is not alone in confronting problems caused by mandatory minimum
drug and drug-free zone laws. "This report provides yet more evidence of the
unintended -- yet very harmful -- consequences of well-meaning but
counter-productive legislation. Massachusetts' joint Judiciary Committee
understands the issue, as it recently filed House Bill 5004, which would
reduce the size of school zones and eliminate the mandatory minimum sentence
for first time offenders. We strongly support these Committee proposals,
which would protect public safety while ensuring fair and proportionate
sentences," said Barbara J. Dougan, director of the Massachusetts FAMM
project. "Reform of drug and drug-free zone laws could save the state
millions in corrections costs and reduce the human and fiscal waste of
mandatory minimum drug sentences," said Dougan. "FAMM welcomes the
opportunity to work with the Patrick Administration and legislators to this
end."
Massachusetts' drug-free zone laws require a two-year mandatory minimum
sentence for those convicted of distributing or possessing with intent to sell
drugs within 1,000 feet of school property, or 100 feet of parks or
playgrounds. The report shows that 1,000 foot zones are so large that most
drug activity within them has nothing to do with children. When an entire
urban area becomes a drug-free zone, the law has no deterrent effect.
Instead, it punishes drug offenses occurring in urban areas more harshly than
the same crimes committed in rural or suburban communities.
"The report illustrates the shameful racial disparities that result from
drug-free zone laws. People of color are hit hardest. Urban residents are
five times more likely to be subject to these laws. According to the
Massachusetts Sentencing Commission, a staggering 81 percent of those
convicted of zone violations were African-American or Latino," said Dougan.
FAMM's Massachusetts campaign was launched in 2007, in response to calls
for an overhaul of the state's sentencing system from Gov. Deval Patrick,
Senate President Therese Murray, House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi and other
legislative leaders.
For more information, visit: www.famm.org
SOURCE FAMM Foundation
