Innocence Commission

DNA Bill Passes! Focus Now Turns to Innocence Commission Bill    Now that the DNA bill is on Governor Patrick's desk, ready for his signature, it is time to move on to the Innocence Commission bill, still in the Joint Judiciary Committee. We need it to be sent to the floors of the House and Senate with a favorable report. If you are represented by any of the members of the committee, please contact him or her. Or perhaps you know someone who is. It would also be a courtesy to contact your own representative and senator as well. The bill, H.2270, "An Act to Establish the Massachusetts Innocence Commission" can be found here.

Thanks for whatever you can do. - Jonathan Tetherly, Task Team Chair  2-16-12

"3 strikes" is the wrong way forward Massachusetts lawmakers are under intense pressure to pass a "3 strikes and you're out" proposal that would make our already harsh sentencing laws even more punitive. In November, each branch of the state legislature hurriedly passed legislation that would, among other provisions, expand "mandatory maximum" sentences for people with certain criminal histories who are convicted of new crimes. That's right: mandatory maximum sentences.

Please ask four key legislative leaders to reconsider these overly harsh sentencing proposals.  Read the entire article here.

Jonathan Tetherly, Chair of Innocence Commission Task Team  1-27-12


        

The Innocence Commission Task Team was formed by the MACUCC Board of Directors in 2009, and confirmed by the MACUCC Annual Meeting in  2010. The concept of a task team on an innocence commission was presented to the Massachusetts Conference, UCC, as early as 2007.

The Task Team is composed of church members meeting monthly in Framingham. As we have become more aware that innocent persons are being convicted and serving time in Massachusetts, we have become dedicated to making changes in the criminal justice system to make it less likely that the wrong person is convicted.

Our primary goal is to have the Commonwealth create an innocence commission, which would make recommendations to the legislature for improvements in the work of the police, the prosecutors, the courts, and the defense attorneys. We are very encouraged that Rep. Benjamin Swan of Springfield has introduced, into the 2010-2011 session of the legislature, a bill which would create such a commission.  It is H. 2270, 'An Act to Establish the Massachusetts Innocence Commission', and follows the guidelines on the MACUCC resolution calling for the creation of such a commission. On March 1, 2011, it was sent to the Judiciary Committee, a joint committee of the House and Senate, with 5 co-sponsors. There will be a hearing sometime during the 2011-2012 legislative session.

As the creation of the commission itself does not mean that improvements to the justice system will automatically happen, we are committed to supporting legislation favorable to our goal of a fairer, more accurate, criminal justice system in Massachusetts, whenever and however that legislation originates. We are presently encouraged by a bill to guarantee post-conviction DNA testing, and another legislative effort to improve standards for evidence presented in court. We are watching other legislation as well.

We are not naive as to the difficulty of moving these changes through the legislature. However, we believe that with the support of the members of our churches all over the Commonwealth, our goals can be achieved. We would warmly welcome anyone to the Task Team who believes they would like to be a part of this work. And we need to call upon many more of you to contact your representatives in government at an appororiate time. Together, we can create a fairer justice system and therefore a better society.

We would like to hear from you.

Grace and Peace

Rev. Jonathan C. Tetherly, Chair, Innocence Commission Task Team