Senate

Prosecutors Raise Concerns With Senate Crime Bill

A majority of the state's district attorneys are taking issue with several provisions of a massive criminal justice bill expected to be debated by the Massachusetts Senate this week.

The nine prosecutors outlined their concerns in a six-page letter to Democratic Senate President Stan Rosenberg and Senate Judiciary Committee chairman William Brownsberger.

The DAs wrote that they oppose elimination of mandatory minimum sentences for drug trafficking and argue that applying those changes retroactively could allow the early release of hundreds of convicted drug offenders.

The prosecutors also object to other provisions including recommended changes in statutory rape laws _ calling those ``unnecessary and dangerous'' _ and raising the juvenile crime threshold from 18 to 19.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan did not sign the letter.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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