QUOTE
In Massachusetts, a two-time child rapist could receive as little as
five years in prison for his crime. If Rep. Ted Speliotis, D-
Danvers, gets his way, that rapist would spend life behind bars.
Speliotis wants the Legislature to strip judges of their discretion
when sentencing all repeat rapists in favor of a single sentence of
life in prison. Speliotis, who has filed legislation for the single
life sentence, said he believes there is no curing rapists of their
criminal desires and there should be no choice in punishment.
"These are mentally ill people who should be put away," Speliotis
said.
Essex Country District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said he would like
to see tougher sentences for repeat rapists.
"Anyone who is a repeat rapist deserves life (in prison)," Blodgett
said.
But legal experts warn that mandatory life sentences, while
appealing, don't serve justice.
Jeanne Kempthorne, a former federal prosecutor who now practices law
in Salem, said judges should be able to consider a variety of
factors when sentencing.
"You are sacrificing sensitivity to the particular situation,"
Kempthorne said.
U.S. judges and prosecutors in some cases have resisted mandatory
minimums, common in federal law. Judges have taken cases away from
juries to avoid a conviction resulting in a mandatory sentence.
Prosecutors, too, have opted for a different charge against an
assailant. She suggested both could happen in Massachusetts courts.
Massachusetts law lets a judge sentence a repeat rapist up to life
in prison but doesn't require it, and the sentence can be any amount
less than life. The law does prohibit that convict from
participating in furloughs, education training or employment until
they've served two-thirds of their minimum sentence.
A second or subsequent conviction for statutory rape — sex with
someone younger than 16 — carries a five-year minimum sentence.
A repeat child rapist could receive as little as five years in
prison, while a subsequent armed rape would result in a minimum 20-
year sentence.
Speliotis filed his bill late last year, and it now is bottled up in
the Legislature's Judiciary Committee. Speliotis fears it may not be
voted on this year.
Speliotis, who has asked the committee chairman to act now, said
he's pushing hard because a high-profile vigilante murder of a
convicted rapist has people's attention focused on the crime. Joseph
Gray was murdered April 16 in Maine, but his assailant committed
suicide in Boston as police came close to apprehending him. Gray was
convicted in 1992 in Bristol County of indecent assault and battery
on a child and rape of a child and received four to six years in
state prison but was not a repeat offender.
Sen. Steven Baddour, D-Methuen, a member of the Judiciary Committee,
said he supports a mandatory life sentence for child rapists. While
he backs other mandatory minimum sentences, Baddour said he also
thinks judges should be able to allow the circumstances of a case
affect how long a convict stays in prison.
"That's not being weak," Baddour said, "only realistic."
To Speliotis, public safety is his only variable. He points out how
he can go to a Red Sox game and then out at night for drinks alone
and not think twice about being attacked, but his daughters do.
"We know in our hearts those people (rapists) are out there,"
Speliotis said.
Source: Salem News
__________________________________
five years in prison for his crime. If Rep. Ted Speliotis, D-
Danvers, gets his way, that rapist would spend life behind bars.
Speliotis wants the Legislature to strip judges of their discretion
when sentencing all repeat rapists in favor of a single sentence of
life in prison. Speliotis, who has filed legislation for the single
life sentence, said he believes there is no curing rapists of their
criminal desires and there should be no choice in punishment.
"These are mentally ill people who should be put away," Speliotis
said.
Essex Country District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said he would like
to see tougher sentences for repeat rapists.
"Anyone who is a repeat rapist deserves life (in prison)," Blodgett
said.
But legal experts warn that mandatory life sentences, while
appealing, don't serve justice.
Jeanne Kempthorne, a former federal prosecutor who now practices law
in Salem, said judges should be able to consider a variety of
factors when sentencing.
"You are sacrificing sensitivity to the particular situation,"
Kempthorne said.
U.S. judges and prosecutors in some cases have resisted mandatory
minimums, common in federal law. Judges have taken cases away from
juries to avoid a conviction resulting in a mandatory sentence.
Prosecutors, too, have opted for a different charge against an
assailant. She suggested both could happen in Massachusetts courts.
Massachusetts law lets a judge sentence a repeat rapist up to life
in prison but doesn't require it, and the sentence can be any amount
less than life. The law does prohibit that convict from
participating in furloughs, education training or employment until
they've served two-thirds of their minimum sentence.
A second or subsequent conviction for statutory rape — sex with
someone younger than 16 — carries a five-year minimum sentence.
A repeat child rapist could receive as little as five years in
prison, while a subsequent armed rape would result in a minimum 20-
year sentence.
Speliotis filed his bill late last year, and it now is bottled up in
the Legislature's Judiciary Committee. Speliotis fears it may not be
voted on this year.
Speliotis, who has asked the committee chairman to act now, said
he's pushing hard because a high-profile vigilante murder of a
convicted rapist has people's attention focused on the crime. Joseph
Gray was murdered April 16 in Maine, but his assailant committed
suicide in Boston as police came close to apprehending him. Gray was
convicted in 1992 in Bristol County of indecent assault and battery
on a child and rape of a child and received four to six years in
state prison but was not a repeat offender.
Sen. Steven Baddour, D-Methuen, a member of the Judiciary Committee,
said he supports a mandatory life sentence for child rapists. While
he backs other mandatory minimum sentences, Baddour said he also
thinks judges should be able to allow the circumstances of a case
affect how long a convict stays in prison.
"That's not being weak," Baddour said, "only realistic."
To Speliotis, public safety is his only variable. He points out how
he can go to a Red Sox game and then out at night for drinks alone
and not think twice about being attacked, but his daughters do.
"We know in our hearts those people (rapists) are out there,"
Speliotis said.
Source: Salem News
__________________________________