Cellucci, ACLU to battle again over sex offender law
Governor wants to make it easier for police to release names of convicts to the public

Monday, February 15, 1999

By EILEEN E. FLYNN
Lowell Sun Statehouse Bureau

When Amy Clark, a mother of three in Northboro, discovered that David
Kelley lived across the street from her oldest daughter's school, her first
reaction was pure terror: Kelley is a twice convicted sex offender.

Clark learned about Kelley from a friend who lived near the neighborhood
school. The friend had checked the state's Sex Offender Registry through the
local police department.

Still, Clark wondered why local police didn't notify parents of Kelley's
presence? Didn't they have a right to be informed?

The law would have allowed police to notify schools and or neighbors of
Kelley's presence if not for a decision handed down by the Supreme Judicial
Court in July 1998, which required hearings for convicted sex offenders
before they could be classified as low-, moderate- or high-risk violators.

With 7,600 registered offenders and a backlog in hearings, police have their
hands are tied when it comes to notification. If a state board had held a
hearing and determined Kelley to be a high risk, police could have told the
public.

As it turned out, Clark's fears were justified: Kelley became another
mother's nightmare when he allegedly raped a four-year-old boy last month
in Northboro.

This latest case made headlines statewide. It also prompted Gov. Paul
Cellucci to refile legislation that would impose stricter laws on sex offenders
and beef up the registry system within local police departments and the
state's Criminal History Systems Board.

"Sex offenders have a tendency to commit the most horrific crimes and have
a propensity to repeat those crimes," Cellucci said last week. "We want
them to think twice before striking again."

Cellucci's proposal aims to create a mechanism allowing police to
disseminate lists of offenders who live within zip codes, police districts and in
contiguous communities to citizens requesting the information. Currently,
police can only release sex offender data if someone provides a name,
address or asks if anyone in the registry lives within a one-mile radius of his
or her home.

Backed in his effort by Attorney General Thomas Reilly, district attorneys,
legislators, and police chiefs, Cellucci is pushing legislation that was nearly
signed into law last year: It calls for lifetime sentences for repeat sex
offenders, commonly known as the "two strikes and you're out" bill. He is
also seeking civil commitments on those who remain sexually dangerous, and
lifetime supervision for all convicted sex offenders.

Civil rights dispute

A similar bill filed in the last legislative session failed over objections
concerning the civil rights of violators. According to state Sen. Robert
Bernstein, then chairman of the Criminal Justice Committee, the omnibus bill
he filed last spring was expected to pass. But the House did not return the
bill to the Senate until the second to last day of the session. And although the
Senate promptly returned it, the House did not move on it on the last day.

Ann Lambert, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, said the
same concerns remain paramount as the Legislature considers these laws for
a second time.

"The 'two strikes' really doesn't reflect a thoughtful approach to the problem.
It's bumper-sticker legislation," she said. "It's not a seriously thought-through
... proposal that focuses in on the behavior Governor Cellucci says he's
trying to eradicate."

Lambert also found fault with the registry, calling it an "unwieldy" system that
covers too many offenses. She argued the civil commitment law is "a thinly
masked way of keeping (offenders) locked up" and raises serious questions
about constitutional rights.

An extended sentence

According to Charles McDonald, director of communication for the
Executive Office of Public Safety, there are currently 2,128 sex offenders
behind bars in the state prison system. An additional 525 state inmates have
prior convictions for sex offenses, and 143 inmates fall into other categories
that include crimes with sexual overtones.

When a sex offender is slated for release from prison, if the individual is
considered too dangerous for society, the district attorney can impose a civil
commitment -- an extended sentence during which the prisoner receives
mental health treatment.

"What's troubling about it (is) the offender is convicted and goes to prison.
When he or she is about to get out, people get worked up about, really, the
fact that he's going to get out, but the subterfuge people use is mental health,"
Lambert said, adding the ACLU will testify against the proposal this year.

But Cellucci's position on the matter is in sharp contrast to the ACLU's. "I'll
tell you whose liberties I'm worried about -- the four-year-old children and
five-year-old children who are being raped and abused," he said.

Cellucci said the legislation would "pass constitutional muster."

Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley expressed an urgency in
passing the bills.

"We understand that these crimes and people who commit them are different
from (other) crimes. Our experience with these people is they will commit
the crimes again," said Coakley, who served as chief of the Middlesex
County child abuse unit from 1991-96. During that time, she handled
800-900 cases, 80 percent of which involved sexual abuse.

Mass. was last to pass law

The state's Sex Offender Registry law dates back to 1996, when
Massachusetts became the last state in the nation to enact such legislation.

At the time, then-Criminal Justice Committee Chairman Sen. Robert
Antonioni, D-Leominster, admitted to "mixed feelings" about a bill that would
create "additional punishment" for criminals who had served their time.

A close friend, whose relative fell victim to a repeat sex offender, prompted
Antonioni to reassess his concerns.

But he said lawmakers were not prepared for the state Supreme Judicial
Court's "much broader interpretation of individual liberties and protections."

Court decisions, like the one last summer, have put the Sex Offender
Registry "in limbo," said Leominster Police Chief Peter Roddy, because of
the thousands of hearings pending. In the meantime, police cannot actively
notify communities of the presence of potentially dangerous sex offenders.

Lambert maintains it is the fairest method of dealing with the problem.

Before the court ruling, North Adams Police Director Craig Millard said his
department posted a notification on a level three offender working in North
Adams. Like Roddy, he described the system as "in limbo."

Roddy believes a simpler system would save the department time -- the
process of determining a one-mile radius is tedious -- and would allow
community members to feel safer. "I'd much rather tell you where all (the sex
offenders) live in Leominster," he said.

There are 70 registered sex offenders living in Leominster, according to Lt.
Michele Pellecchia. He said residents have made 42 requests for information
within the past year.

In Lowell, a city more than twice the size of Leominster, Patrick Cook,
communications manager for the police department, reported 217 registered
offenders. He said about six to eight people request registry information each
week, sometimes more when an incident like the one in Northboro makes
the news.

Lowell Police Superintendent Edward Davis believes the registry is a
valuable service because residents ought to know "exactly what the potential
danger is."

In order to do that, though, Cellucci said hearings for sex offenders about to
be released must be expedited. To that end, the Legislature budgeted $4
million last year for the creation of a full-time board to determine at what
level -- three being the most dangerous -- a sex offender must register. A
variety of factors determine how a sex offender is classified, including the
likelihood of recidivism and the violent nature of the first offense.

Under Cellucci's proposal, police would then have the right to inform
community leaders and neighbors of a level two offender and the public at
large of a level three offender.

The proposed law would also carry mandatory minimum sentences for those
who fail to register: 30 days to 2 1/2 years for the first offense and 90 days
to 10 years for the second offense.

As far as state Sen. Steven Panagiotakos, D-Lowell, is concerned, these
measures are necessary, but he predicts a close vote in the Legislature,
especially on the "two strikes" bill. But he thinks the civil commitments
component will easily draw support.

"My feeling is if it's on the books, then (sex offenders) know if they commit
this type of crime, this is the added penalty they have to go through," he said.
Cellucci, ACLU to battle again over sex offender law

Governor wants to make it easier for police to release names of convicts to
the public