(Boston, MA)  The state’s most dangerous sex offenders who fail to register under state law would receive mandatory lifetime parole under a bill filed today by the Senate’s top public safety leader, Senator Jarrett T. Barrios.  The bill aims to strengthen the state’s tracking and supervision of Level 3 sex offenders who evade parole supervision under current state law.

“I’m angry that criminals in need of supervision are somehow slipping through cracks in our legal system,” said Senator Barrios, who is Chairman of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security and has oversight over the Sex Offender Registry Board.  “Requiring strict supervision for all dangerous sex offenders can reduce the number of victims and lead to a safer community for all of us.”

Under current law dangerous sex offenders, known as Level 3 sex offenders that are convicted of very serious crimes like rape, are required to receive mandatory parole.  However, a substantial percentage of those criminals do not receive parole and hundreds of criminals convicted prior to 1999 are exempt from that provision.  Convicted sex offender Raymond Diamond who was arraigned yesterday for rape in Boston was last convicted in 1989 and was not subjected to lifetime parole. 

“The Raymond Diamond case points to a serious problem in the law and, to be clear, the Suffolk DA’s office did everything it could to put this criminal behind bars,” Barrios continued.  “Our state’s failure to get tough on this cause of violent crime can be eliminated today by adopting a lifetime parole requirement for those sex offenders who’ve broken the public trust.”

Additionally, lifetime parole is optional under certain sexual offenses and may not be required by the court.  Barrios says by mandating lifetime parole for Level 3 sex offenders who fail to register the state can make sure that every dangerous sex offender in the state is receiving strict supervision and tracking.

“We can keep our children and families safe from the most dangerous of sexual predators by keeping them under the watchful eye of parole officers and law enforcement,” said Barrios.

###

The Jarrett Barrios Website is privately paid for and authorized by
The Barrios Committee, Daniel Schlozman, Treasurer
PO Box 391254, Cambridge, MA 02139 (617) 661-1805
Problems? Contact webmaster@senatorbarrios.org

Text portions, photographs, graphics, and source code © 2002-2005, The Barrios Committee. All rights reserved.
Click here for our full Privacy/Copyright/Linking Policy.