Mass Judiciary Committee Hearing Announced for Tuesday, July 25th, 1pm ET

An Opportunity to Testify on Behalf of Justice-Involved Individuals

Have you wondered if there is anything specific and tangible you can do to support the mission of FFIMI and criminal justice reform? We’re sharing the following information to inform you of an important avenue of support you should be aware of and may decide to participate in.

The Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight is holding a Judiciary Committee hearing at the Mass Statehouse on Tuesday, July 25th at 1pm ET. Our friends at Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts shared the list below of various bills that touch their work and intersect with FFIMI’s mission. The call has gone out to invite anyone to testify to the Judiciary Committee on one or more of the issues that are important to you. There are options to testify remotely, in person, or in writing. Please visit this site for all of the details related to the hearing.

Testifying at a hearing can be intimidating if you’ve never done it before, but the ACLU has helpfully provided materials to make the process more accessible. View materials here.

For your reference, below are some of the issues that are to be presented.

• An Act relative to guilty but with a mental illness *Please read below*
• An Act to reduce mass incarceration (Ending Life Without Parole Sentencing)
• An Act to provide equitable sentencing for felony murder
• An Act relative to Massachusetts state sovereignty (Ending ICE detention)
• An Act establishing a jail and prison construction moratorium
• An Act related to educational programming for incarcerated emerging adults
• An Act creating an independent correctional oversight office to facilitate the recommendations of the Special Legislative Commission on Structural Racism in Correctional Facilities of the Commonwealth
• An Act relative to telephone service for inmates in all correctional and other penal institutions in the Commonwealth
• An Act relative to life without parole
• An Act relative to telephone service for inmates in all correctional and other penal institutions in the Commonwealth

*An Act Relative to Guilty but with a Mental Illness

Over the past two years FFIMI has worked with Massachusetts State Senator Cindy Friedman to create Bill S.981: An Act Relative to Guilty But With a Mental Illness. Unlike other states who have enacted Guilty But With a Mental Illness (GBMI) laws, this bill DOES NOT ESTABLISH A VERDICT that would undermine a defendant’s ability to mount a successful insanity defense. Rather, the proposed Massachusetts legislation provides for a sentencing consideration AFTER the jury has rejected the defendant’s insanity defense and has found the defendant “guilty”. This is an important distinction and the proposed bill also provides clear direction that such individuals who are found by the court to be suffering from a mental illness, would serve the entirety of their sentence at a mental health treatment facility rather than prison.

For more information about understanding An Act Relative to Guilty but with a Mental Illness, please visit this blog: Important Upcoming Legislation – Why FFIMI Supports It and What Sets it Apart. We hope you will consider joining with FFIMI in supporting this important legislation.

If you have questions about this hearing, please reach out to Donna Winant at aptx2@charter.net or Laura Walsh at laura.walsh376@gmail.com.