Pubdate: Tue, 27 Oct 2015
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2015 Globe Newspaper Company
Contact: http://services.bostonglobe.com/news/opeds/letter.aspx?id=6340
Website: http://bostonglobe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52
Author: Milton J. Valencia

DRUG VIOLATORS GET A CHANCE TO CHANGE LIVES, AVOID PRISON

The mother of five did not deny what she had done. Yes, she had 
helped a drug-dealing friend hide thousands of dollars in profits by 
making small deposits on his behalf. The federal crime meant she 
could spend up to five years behind bars, far from her children.

But come Wednesday, she and three other low-level defendants will be 
offered a first-of-its-kind opportunity to possibly avoid or reduce 
their prison time, by pleading guilty and agreeing to take a specific 
series of steps toward rehabilitation. She must find better child 
care and stable housing, work toward obtaining a GED, and not only 
maintain a job but work toward a promotion. Her progress will be 
monitored along the way.

After a year, a judge will determine whether she and the others 
should still serve time or have proven themselves worthy of an 
alternative, such as probation or home confinement. Prosecutors could 
even ask that the case be dismissed.

"We are offering no promises or guarantees," US District Judge Leo T. 
Sorokin said. "This offers an opportunity . . . to help defendants 
turn their lives around. We are trying to make sure defendants never 
come back to the criminal justice system and that when they return to 
their neighborhoods they return as sober, employed, and law-abiding citizens."

The federal initiative in Massachusetts is part of a broader shift 
nationwide against the heavy-handed punishments of the past and 
toward the focused rehabilitation of defendants whose crimes can be 
tied to either a history of drug addiction or a background of neglect 
and disadvantage. The strategy aims to reduce recidivism with 
preemptive programs while reducing the country's soaring incarceration rates.

In Massachusetts, anyone charged with a federal crime will be invited 
to apply to the program within 90 days of their arrest.

Those who qualify will be able to plead guilty and enter into an 
agreement to meet certain goals.

'We are trying to make sure defendants never come back to the 
criminal justice system and that when they return to their 
neighborhoods they return as sober, employed, and law-abiding citizens.'

They will then attend monthly follow-up meetings with a magistrate 
judge and could be required to participate in a form of restorative 
justice program, which focuses on helping them recognize the harm 
they had caused their victims. That could include, for instance, 
having drug dealers talk to doctors about drug overdoses or having 
people convicted of gun crimes meet with victims of gun violence.

Actual victims of the defendants would participate at their discretion.

Twelve months later, the federal judge overseeing their case can 
consider their compliance - or lack thereof - when handing out a sentence.

"The only thing that's being promised to them is that the goals they 
accomplished will be taken into consideration," said Christopher 
Maloney, the chief federal probation officer in Massachusetts.

The program - called Repair, Invest, Succeed, Emerge, or RISE - is of 
the first programs to offer extensive services to defendants before 
sentencing, rather than after. It is unique in that it partners 
prosecutors and defense attorneys, probation officers and a judge in 
screening applicants and setting their rehabilitation goals.

Defendants must meet certain qualifications, such as being eligible 
for bail, ensuring that the most dangerous offenders do not hijack 
the program in an effort to remain free as they await sentencing.

Prosecutors also want assurances that the program excludes anyone 
accused of child exploitation crimes or serious violent crimes, as 
well as those who are accused of white-collar crimes that cannot be 
attributed to a history of drug abuse or a disadvantaged background.

US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz said her support of the program is based 
on the Department of Justice's "Smart on Crime" initiatives that 
focus on rehabilitating defendants who have substantiated needs, to 
reduce their recidivism.

"I think what we're trying to do here is help those individuals who 
have committed crimes because of the fact that they did have a 
substance abuse problem, or lack life skills, education, the support, 
the structure in life to choose the right path," she said.

If a defendant is successful, she said, her office could recommend a 
lighter sentence, probation, or another, more extended diversion 
program that could keep a defendant out of prison. In only rare 
instances, she indicated, would her office recommend a charge be dismissed.

"It really depends on what the charges were, what the problems were, 
and at the end of the day how they were able to comply with the 
requirements of the program," she said.

The shift away from heavy-handed punishments and toward 
rehabilitation and reducing recidivism is part of a broader effort to 
cut down on high incarceration rates, particularly for low-level drug 
crimes. Studies have increasingly cited the soaring costs of 
incarceration, while also showing that long prison sentences are 
ineffective in addressing underlying causes of crimes such as drug dependency.

In past years, judges have ordered defendants to participate in some 
type of rehabilitation program once they have completed their prison 
sentence, or as part of their probation. But the more recent push has 
been to encourage defendants to seek treatment immediately, with the 
incentive that they could avoid prison, or have their sentence 
reduced. One hope is that defendants will be more committed.

"What appears to make these [programs] work . . . is participants in 
the program are dealing with a judge in a way they never have 
before," said US District Judge John Gleeson, of the Eastern District 
of New York, who was one of the first to create a program three years ago.

He added, "The thinking behind this program is, 'what are we waiting 
for.' Why are we waiting for them to complete a four-year prison 
sentence and then work with them? Why not work with them immediately, 
and maybe they can avoid a prison term?"

The four Massachusetts defendants who will appear before a judge 
Wednesday were the first to qualify for the program. Court officials 
hope that roughly 20 defendants will take part in the first year. The 
court will reassess the program at that time.

Besides the mother of five, the initial defendants include a high 
school dropout with a history of mental health problems, whose crime 
was smuggling drugs from the Dominican Republic on behalf of other 
drug dealers. She will be required to obtain mental health treatment, 
get job training, and work toward a GED.

The court did not disclose the defendants' names.

One man approved for the program assaulted a postal worker. He would 
be required to get a job and seek employment.

And another man was 18 when he was arrested for the first time on a 
gun crime, part of an interstate smuggling ring. He is a high school 
dropout with a history of substance abuse, and will be required to 
get and maintain a job, attend drug treatment programs, and find a mentor.

Said Miriam Conrad, the federal defender in Boston whose office 
represents some of the defendants: "They have goals set for them. . . 
. If they can do these things, we hope it will also reduce the chance 
they can be sentenced to prison."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom