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Crime Bill

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Gov. Patrick: 'I Will Sign This Bill'

Killing of Woburn Police Officer Jack Maguire helped gain support for Melissa's Bill, which limits parole eligibility for convicted violent repeat offenders.

  With the fate of Melissa's Bill solely in Gov. Deval Patrick's hands Tuesday, the governor made a decision at 2:30 p.m. this afternoon. "I will sign this bill," he said. Melissa's Bill, named for Melissa Gosule who was killed by a violent repeat offender who was out on parole, has been in the works for years. But it was the killing of Woburn Police Officer Jack Maguire on Dec. 26, 2010 that spurred more support for the bill. Officer Maguire responded to an armed robbery at Kohl's in the middle of a blizzard. When he stopped the suspect, a paroled repeat offender with several convictions for robbery and violence against police officers, gunfire was exchanged. Officer Maguire was killed, as was the suspect. Chuck Maguire, Officer Maguire's…

Patrick to Make Last Call on Crime Bill

After Tuesday, the House and Senate will not have an opportunity to override any veto.

  Although the legislative session ends Tuesday at midnight, Gov. Deval Patrick has 10 days to sign any bills that land on his desk. But anything he vetoes cannot be overridden since the Legislature will have adjourned. Perhaps the most-watched bill in this scenario is the mandatory sentencing bill, also called the "three-strikes" law or "Melissa's Bill," over which the governor and Legislature have locked horns.   The bill eliminates parole for someone convicted three times of one of 40 or so violent crimes, with at least one conviction having carried a minimum three-year prison term. Although it passed with overwhelming support in both chambers last week, Patrick sent it back Saturday, asking for an amendment that increases judicial …

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