Last Thursday, Representative Lew Evangelidis held a press conference on legislation he will be filing that would replace the current verdict of "not guilty by reason of insanity" with "guilty but insane," a major difference pertaining to punishment of criminals convicted of murder. Rather than six months at Bridgewater State Hospital with an annual follow-up review, ten years would be the minimum time served. Rep. Evangelidis is quoted in Friday's Telegram & Gazette as saying, "'It is outrageous that a murderer could be released from incarceration after only a few months or years of treatment in a hospital setting without any criminal record whatsoever.'" (p.A4)
The proposed change, called "Jupin's Law" arose as a result of the shooting of a Westminster police officer, Lawrence M. Jupin. Detective Ralph LeBlanc spoke to the Telegram about the events of May 10, 1999 when his partner was shot, leading to his resultant death in 2002 after having been in a coma for those three years, as being "'surreal'". Mr. Evangelidis elaborates in his November 20 press release. “'Just like the thousands of police officers who protect our communities each and every day, Officer Jupin risked his life for the better of our society and made the ultimate sacrifice to protect and serve. This tragic death and subsequent trial of Mr. Rivers did magnify the inadequacies of our insanity laws which must be rectified. There is a fine line to balance when dealing with defendants who are mentally ill, but I feel as though this legislation is a fair solution to protect public safety while safeguarding the rights of mentally ill criminals.'”
Read Representative Evangelidis' full press release below and beneath that, click on the link to watch NECN's coverage.
EVANGELIDIS TO FILE “JUPIN’S LAW” CHANGING INSANITY DEFENSE LAWS
Worcester- On May 10, 1999, Officer Lawrence Jupin of the Westminster Police Department responded to Route 31 in Westminster to assist another officer. An individual had approached the other officer while he was conducting a motor vehicle stop. The man was wearing camouflage clothing and carrying a back pack when he appeared out of nowhere on the desolate roadway. When officers attempted to speak with him, the suspect fled. Officer Jupin and the other officer quickly pursued him into a nearby wooded area. Officer Jupin was shot three times with a stolen handgun by Jason Rivers of Fitchburg. After receiving extensive treatment for brain damage suffered as a result of the shooting, Officer Jupin died in November of 2002 at the age of 34.
After years of medical examinations and evaluations at Bridgewater State Hospital, Jupin’s assailant finally faced a Judge and was found not guilty by reason of insanity on September 1, 2009. Under current Massachusetts Law, an individual who is found not guilty by reason of insanity can only be committed to Bridgewater State Hospital for a period of six months. Following this initial commitment, the individual can be re-committed in one year increments following subsequent evaluations.
State Representative Lew Evangelidis will be filing legislation to change the Commonwealth’s insanity defense laws to ensure that individuals who have committed these serious crimes are committed to Bridgewater State Hospital for at least ten years, rather than the current system that could allow someone like Jason Rivers to be released after six months. Evangelidis’ legislation would remove the current defense of “not guilty by reason of insanity” in cases of murder and replace it with “guilty, but insane.” Under the proposed legislation by Evangelidis, an individual found guilty except insane would be committed to a period of confinement for at least ten years, with subsequent commitments occurring every year.
Evangelidis said, “I believe that the current laws that allow someone to be found not guilty by reason of insanity are simply crazy. It is outrageous that a murderer could be released from incarceration after only a few months or years of treatment in a hospital setting without any criminal record whatsoever.”
“Just like the thousands of Police Officers who protect our communities each and every day, Officer Jupin risked his life for the better of our society and made the ultimate sacrifice to protect and serve. This tragic death and subsequent trial of Mr. Rivers did magnify the inadequacies of our insanity laws which must be rectified. There is a fine line to balance when dealing with defendants who are mentally ill, but I feel as though this legislation is a fair solution to protect public safety while safeguarding the rights of mentally ill criminals” said Evangelidis, who is a former Assistant District Attorney and Assistant State Attorney.
Officer Ralph LeBlanc, who initially made the inquiry concerning Mr. Rivers on Route 31 in Westminster in May of 1999, added the following, “After the courts ruling on September 1, 2009 I was horrified that a person could be found not guilty of murder based on their mental status. This discovery took almost 10 years for doctors to come to a conclusion about and even though the judge said Jason Rivers was, without a doubt, to blame for Larry’s death. After the ruling, I began looking into how other states deal with such cases of mental competency and discovered the “Guilty Except Insane”. I believe that a change in the existing insanity laws will address both sides of the issue. The safety concerns of society where a person who is responsible for killing someone, will be supervised with guidelines in place to keep society safe. As well as, provide necessary psychological treatment for the offender in the appropriate setting. My quest to see a change in this law will never affect the person who is responsible for the death of my friend Larry. Though, it could address similar issues that may affect other citizens throughout our state. It’s not about protecting police officers, it’s about protecting the community as a whole.”
Senator Jen Flanagan, who has also expressed her support for Jupin’s Law said, “Certainly my background and my capacity as Chairman of the Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse, allows me to understand the very complex issues surrounding mental illness. What happened in Westminster was an absolute travesty and my heart goes out to the Jupin family and to the members of the Westminster Police Department. I have supported this legislation because the trial of Mr. Rivers did bring to light the glaring shortcomings in the current statute. Keeping in mind the intricate nature of this issue, I am supportive of the efforts to remedy what lacks in the current law.”
This legislation will be filed with the House Clerk after other legislators have the opportunity to co-sponsor the bill. Jupin’s law has been officially endorsed by the Fitchburg Police Department, Leominster Police Department, Ashburnham Police Department, Princeton Police Department, Gardner Police Department, Clinton Police Department, Lunenburg Police Department, Oakham Police Department, Hubbardston Police Department, Devens Federal Prison Union, Worcester County Sheriff's Union, Central Mass Chiefs, and Mass Chiefs. Verbal endorsements have been received by the Massachusetts Correctional Officer's Union, State Police Association of Massachusetts, Boston Police Association, MPA and MassCop.
New England Cable News, Thursday, November 19, 2009 (original posting) "Mass. lawkmaker works to change insanity legislation." by Kenneth Craig.
http://www.necn.com/Boston/New-England/2009/11/19/Mass-lawmaker-works-to-change/1258670567.html
Telegram & Gazette, Friday, "Bill would eliminate 'not guilty by insanity'" by Gary V. Murray, Friday, November 20, 2009, p.A4.
http://www.telegram.com/article/20091120/NEWS/911200350/1052
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2 comments:
Great post. Mr. Evangelidis has the right idea. But since Beacon Hill is infested by a mob of idiots with no common sense, his plan might get scuttled.
The insanity defense has always been troubling and complicated.
Why incarcerate people at all?
There are four reasons, each with varying degrees of importance (depending on the specifics of the crime):
(1) Restrain the offender from new crimes.
(2) Deter others from crime.
(3) Rehabilitate the offender.
(4) Satisfy public demand for vengeance.
If you examine each reason carefully, you will see that each applies equally well to the "sane" murderer and the insane murderer. In other words, the usual argument, that the insane person isn't "responsible for his actions", does not figure into any of the reasons for incarceration.
This is obvious for (1) and (2). In the case of rehabilitation (3), there are good reasons to offer different kinds of treatment to the mentally ill. However, it stretches credulity to suggest an insane person is quickly rehabilitated when a sane person isn't.
Exacting vengeance (4), is the one reason that clearly contradicts traditional Christian values. Note that it has nothing to do with the offender; rather it is a governing response to quell strong public emotions from the worst crimes. Setting aside the argument about whether this is justified, its usefulness is unrelated to the offender's mental state.
For these reasons I come down on the side of Mr. Evangelidis and his proposed change. As I understand the change, it does not imply that the insane offender will receive inappropriate treatment. It simply regularizes the criminal justice system, which bolsters public confidence.
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