Psalm 69:33
For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.

Your vote in the Essex County DA race is crucial to achieving an effective and equitable justice system. The last time the DA primary race was contested, fewer than 100,000 votes were cast.

Almost 10% of those voters left the DA choice blank. Voting stats tell us we need to learn more about the DA and why we need to care. Uncontested races lack public dialogue which can examine current policies and practices of the DA’s Office.

According to The Appeal.org, “justices in the state’s highest court are weighing whether it is unconstitutional to sentence people convicted of murder and aged 18 to 20 to life without parole.”  Massachusetts could loosen life without parole restrictions for young people

Hebrews 13:3
Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them; and those who are ill-treated, since you also are in the body.

Essex County Community Foundation’s “Impact Essex County” shows that Essex County has one of the highest rates for racial disparity in juvenile justice in the Commonwealth. In addition to the serious racial disparities, Essex County also has the highest rate of juvenile detention in the state. From the Sentencing Project July 15, 2021 Black Disparities in Youth Incarceration data shows us that in Massachusetts, seven times as many black people (anecdotally darker skinned LatinX people are often classified as Black including Dominicans) are incarcerated for every white person incarcerated (per 100,000).

• Definition of economic racial gender disparity (1:30 min)
• District attorneys need to take ownership of their institutions’ roles in perpetuating systems of oppression. One example of striving for accountability is Duke Law School’s Plea Tracker Project, an unprecedented look at how prosecutors use their discretion and a rare example of prosecutors putting a check on their own practices.
• Why prosecutors must shine a light on plea agreements Boston Globe Opinion 10/18/2021
• The Unfair Toll of Tough-on-Crime Pretrial Detention: Prosecutors hold an imbalance of power, outweighing the power of the accused and their defense. A prosecutors’ leverage lies in their ability to ask for bail or not ask for bail, file for a dangerousness hearing or not, charge a crime with a mandatory minimum sentence or one without, charge a sentencing enhancement or not. In regards to cash bail, if a DA asks for bail to be set at an amount higher than the defendant can afford, then the defendant, who is innocent until proven guilty, will sit in jail until the date of the trial. This waiting period could well be a longer time than the sentence for the crime charged. The toll of unaffordable cash bail imposes high costs on the detainees, their families, their communities, and the larger public. In the Massachusetts Profile PrisonPolicy.org,  68% of jail inmates are held pretrial, unconvicted. To explore how a DA can implement transformational leadership, read After cash bail: A framework for reimagining pretrial justice. Recent state-wide changes to the law were aimed to prevent pre trial imprisonment based on poverty. These changes have made it somewhat more difficult for the prosecutors to seek a high cash bail. In response to these changes, the prosecutors’ request for a 58A Dangerousness Hearing, if successful, eliminates the possibility of bail. The “58A” is a court ordered detention “for a felony offense that has as an element of the offense the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force against the person of another or any other felony that, by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person of another may result…”  Essex County outranks other counties in the Commonwealth for the number of 58A requests made by the prosecutors. Two cities within Essex County, Lawrence and Lynn, have the highest rate of 58a dangerousness pretrial detentions in the state. As Defense Attorney Stephen Van Dyke describes in the MassLive.com article, A rise in dangerousness hearings, which can hold a defendant 180 days before trial, could limit presumption of innocence (11/24/2019), there is an erosion of the  presumption of innocence when a person is locked up after a pretrial dangerousness hearing because the punishment comes before the trial.  

Psalm 79:11 ESV
Let the groans of the prisoners come before you; according to your great power.

Is our current system the only way to promote safety in our communities or is there a better way? Consider this TedTalk How to fix two of the most broken systems in the US (16:17) 2021.

A better, more faithful and human way to assess the justice system’s impact on a community could be to measure how people are diverted out of the criminal justice system and into the services they need. We do not need to continue measuring success as wins or losses, but instead, by communal and individual healing.

We need to help people find stability by treating underlying issues like: substance abuse, mental illness, poverty, and trauma. In doing so, we reduce the likelihood of individuals reoffending. As the leader of a District Attorney’s office, a DA has the ability to make these changes happen.

In FY 2020, the average annual cost per inmate in Massachusetts was $91,643, which is approximately $200 million a year (MA Department Of Corrections). Massachusetts spends roughly $50 million a year to confine youth for low-level offenses which would be suitable for diversion. A juvenile detention bed costs approximately $82,000 per year (MA Department of Youth Services). Only 3% are serious or chronic offenders. Six leading diversion programs cost-benefit analysis found that every $1 spent on diversion produced savings of $10.60 to $25.60 (Citizens for Juvenile Justice). Imagine the stability we could create in individuals’ lives by preemptively addressing the root causes underlying contact with the criminal justice system, as well as by disrupting the revolving door of our prisons.

• To learn more about Juvenile Diversion and Detention read The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s compilation of Juvenile Detention references
• Study shows no prosecution policies may work Boston Globe 3/29/2021

Matthew 25:35-40
…I was in prison and you came to me….as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.

How does compassion play a role in justice? Jesus calls us from scripture to focus on the plight of prisoners. Public defender and South Church member Kristin Lummus shares with us her understanding of how compassion can be interwoven into both sides of the judicial system in Essex County.

How are victims of crime currently typically treated in Essex County?

How is justice served in Essex County?

How can diversion programs offering services to address addiction, mental illness, and poverty turn the tide of mass incarceration and mass supervision?

Final note: Tune in, pay attention, and show up.

Isaiah 42:7
To open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

Equity, progress and reform are within reach. Transparency and accountability in public office, such as a DA, can provide the public with access to information regarding a DA’s policies and the effects those policies have on a community, and the importance of relying on data to drive policies and measure progress. For a glimpse of what a different model could look like, watch Fair and Just Prosecution’s Prosecutorial Performance Indicators – A New Vision for Success (2:43) 2021

Luke 4:18
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed

Consider how an estimated 64% of jail inmates and 56% of state prison inmates have mental health problems. People with mental illness are 9 times more likely to be incarcerated than hospitalized. People with mental illness stay four to eight times longer in jail than someone without a mental illness for the exact same charge. (Mental Health/ The Prison Policy Initiative 5/10/22). A DA’s prosecutors can channel ill people into care and support within the community rather than punitively condemn them to a cycle of incarceration and drain on the community.

Can we reimagine public safety, moving away from a police-first, punitive, carceral system and shifting focus to improving educational and employment opportunities and better social services? How can a District Attorney’s Office use innovation rather than the wrath of punishment as the guiding theme for public safety? Stay tuned for more ways to advocate for a more just, loving and equitable world!

To hear voices of those impacted and voices of hope, watch the following two videos…

• The human stories behind mass incarceration
• What prosecutors and incarcerated people can learn from each other