City Councilors Air Concerns About "Three Strikes" Law

In light of a bill before the state Senate and House to enact so-called "three-strikes" legislation, the city council came out today strongly against any law that would take away judges' discretion and increase the number of people incarcerated for nonviolent offenses.

"I'm vehemently opposed to Massachusetts modeling anything after the distater that is California's three-strikes law. The economic and human toll of California's three-strikes law is staggering," At-Large City Councilor Ayanna Pressley said in an impassioned speech against the proposed state law.

The "three-strikes law" would compel judges to sentence anyone convicted of three crimes – in certain categories – to long prison sentences.

South End Councilor Charles Yancey proposed that the council send a resolution to Gov. Deval Patrick and the state legislature to thoroughly study the implications, both financial and in human terms, the law could have.

The council, he said, needs to "tell the members of the House, the Senate, and yes, even the governor's office to slow down, study it." 

While every councilor who spoke agreed that the law was bad for Boston, most said that while they want to send a strong message to the state regarding the city's position, they did not support the resolution as currently written. Councilors instead wanted the issue to go to committee, where they could draft a more comprehensive message stating what they would like the legislature to do.

But while councilors were concerned about the state passing a law they viewed as draconian, they made sure to clarify that violent offenders should be behind bars.

"There's a difference to me between someone who is evil enough to assault a person sexually or take a life, and someone who just made some bad choices," At-Large City Councilor Felix Arroyo said, echoing sentiments shared by other councilors. 

The group agreed that in most cases involved nonviolent crime, a lifelong prison sentence is not a smart way to deal with crime.

"You can be tough on crime, and you ought to be, and you can be smart on crime, and you ought to be both," said JP and West Roxbury City Councilor Matt O'Malley.

Backers of the bill say, while it is not finalized, it will focus only on violent offenders, according to WBUR.

[Editor's note: The original headline was changed to reflect the uncertainty that the final bill is being negotiated in the legislature.]