I have served as a State Senator for the Middlesex and Worcester district since January 2009. I devote all my work as State Senator to delivering for those I represent. On Beacon Hill, I serve as the Senate-Chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary and the Senate Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee on Election Laws. I also am the Senate-Chair of the Clean Energy, Criminal Justice Reform, Medicare For All, and MBTA Caucuses.
An Act to Prevent the Imposition of Mandatory Minimum Sentences based on Juvenile Adjudications (S.1022)
This bill prevents courts from lengthening certain mandatory-minimum sentences based on a person’s actions as a child (i.e. juvenile court adjudications). Utilizing juvenile adjudications to increase prison sentences is immoral. Scientific evidence demonstrates that, due to developmental differences between children and adults, the two should be treated separately within the justice system. A person should not be subject to additional mandatory punishment based on things they did when they were children, as young as age 7.