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MA: Boston Globe Editorial: Drug-free school zones- The too-long arm of the law

By Real Cost of Prisons Project (The Sentencing Project)

Drug-free school zones | Globe Editorial The Boston Globe The too-long arm of the law February 1, 2011 GOVERNOR PATRICK?S plan to close two state prisons at the same time he is clamping down on paroling inmates won?t work unless the state loosens its sentencing practices. To this end, Patrick has called for changing the law that sets a minimum two- to 15-year sentence for dealing drugs in a school zone. He would reduce that zone from 1,000 feet to 100 feet. It is a sensible modification that would ensure that non-violent drug offenders do not serve long sentences just because they were caught in the existing law?s unnecessarily large school zone. The change has the backing of the Massachusetts Bar Association. Its chief legal counsel, Martin Healy, calls the 1,000-foot zone law ?a blunt approach?? with a ?disparate impact on poor urban areas...continue to full post

Full post as published by The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog on February 01, 2011 (boomark / email).