| 
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

10-26-2005

Page history last edited by PBworks 17 years, 6 months ago

October 26, 2005

ROMNEY PUSHES FOR TOUGHER DRUNK DRIVING PENALTIES

Seeks to restore key provisions of Melanie’s Bill with amendments to the legislation

 

Attempting to put teeth back into Melanie’s Bill, Governor Mitt Romney today sent back to the Legislature the drunk driving legislation named in honor of 13-year-old Melanie Powell with amendments that restore some of its original provisions.

 

Romney is seeking to reinstate three provisions from the original Melanie’s Bill, a proposal that cracks down on repeat drunk driving offenders in Massachusetts. The amendments will close the legal loopholes that experienced drunk drivers use to avoid serious penalties.

 

Romney thanked the families of victims of drunk drivers for their tireless efforts to pass Melanie’s Bill.

 

“Letting drunks get behind the wheel of a two ton automobile is no different from handing them a loaded gun and setting them loose on the streets,” said Romney. “While the legislation that came to my desk last week contains several good provisions, it does not go far enough. I believe we can do better.”

 

The Governor emphasized that stiffer penalties are meaningless unless loopholes in the law and procedural impediments are addressed.

 

The following amendments were sent to the Legislature today:

 

* Restoring the provision allowing prosecutors to introduce certified copies of court, registry, department of corrections or probation documents to prove that a repeat offender has been previously convicted of drunk driving. Currently, prosecutors have to locate live witnesses from previous cases to prove prior offenses.

* Restoring the provision lengthening license suspensions to at least one year for repeat offenders who refuse to submit to a breath test.

* Increasing the mandatory minimum jail sentence for any individual found guilty of manslaughter by motor vehicle from 2 ½ to five years.

 

Romney noted that more people die from alcohol-related car crashes in Massachusetts than from homicide, and that a large part of the problem is that the same drunk drivers are appearing on the road again and again.

 

Romney was joined by several victims of drunk driving, who have come forward over the last several months to share their stories in support of tougher penalties for repeat offenders, including Tod and Nancy Powell, the parents of Melanie Powell, and her grandfather, Ron Bersani.

 

“We applaud Governor Romney's action today in offering these amendments to Melanie’s Bill. Our position has not wavered since we began this campaign over two years ago,” said Ron Bersani, the grandfather of Melanie Powell, who was killed by a repeat offender in 2003.

 

“We are interested in one thing: passing the strongest possible bill to deal with this insidious, preventable crime,” said Bersani

 

“Massachusetts has some of the most lax drunk driving laws in the nation, and our communities are paying the price year after year,” said Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey. “Nationwide, drunk driving fatalities fell by about 2 percent last year. But in Massachusetts, fatalities were actually up 5 percent. Those aren’t just percentage points. Those are families that have lost loved ones forever in a senseless and preventable tragedy.”

 

“It’s not often you get a second chance to do the right thing,” said House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones Jr. “I’m hopeful my colleagues in the House will do their utmost to ensure we pass the strongest drunk driving legislation possible before we adjourn for the fall.”

 

###

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.