March 6, 2006

HEALEY PUSHES FOR PASSAGE OF ANTI-GANG VIOLENCE BILL

Community activists and concerned residents kick off grassroots signature drive

NEW BEDFORD– Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey today joined local activist, Phyllis Lopes, to launch a petition drive and build support for an anti-gang bill pending on Beacon Hill. Phyllis is the grandmother of Cecil Lopes, who was murdered by gang members on Halloween night in 2004.

The signature drive, led by the Cecil Lopes Foundation, is part of a public effort to pressure the Legislature to pass an anti-gang bill currently stalled on Beacon Hill. To reach citizens across the Commonwealth, the Foundation created a website – www.endgangviolence.com – where visitors can add their name to support tougher laws that crack down on gang crime.

“Crimes go unsolved when witnesses fear retaliation and face intimidation in their neighborhoods and the courtroom,” said Healey. “For more than a year, there has been a bi-partisan effort to protect critical witnesses and put gang members behind bars. We are taking that message to the people in order to get the bill passed.”

Healey filed legislation to protect witnesses of gang crimes from dangerous or life-threatening situations over a year ago and has repeatedly called on the Legislature to send a bill to the Governor’s desk.

In December, Healey traveled across the Commonwealth to meet with law enforcement, education and civic leaders and discuss issues of gang violence. During a meeting in New Bedford, the Lieutenant Governor was inspired by Phyllis and her determination to put end to the violence plaguing her city. According to the Cecil Lopes Foundation, less than five percent of homicides in New Bedford have been solved in the past year.

Determined to move the anti-gang bill forward, Healey invited Phyllis to join her at the State House where they met with members of the Legislature two months ago. Since then, Healey has visited New Bedford to hear from concerned citizens and victims who have been caught in the crossfire of violent gang activity.

“We’re here today to make a difference in the fight against gang violence,” Phyllis Lopes. “We need to keep working together and through the leadership of the Lieutenant Governor and concerned citizens, we will make our streets and communities safe.”

As a criminologist and former consultant to the U.S. Department of Justice in the 1990s, Healey extensively researched domestic and gang-related violence as well as victim and witness intimidation, identifying measures to improve practices throughout the criminal justice system.

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