Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston

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Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston Symposium
on Incarceration and Inequality the Effects of
Cracking Down on Crime Presentation by The
Honorable Robert A. MulliganChief Justice for
Administration and ManagementAdministrative
Office of the Trial CourtandChairmanMassachuset
ts Sentencing CommissionOctober 17, 2007
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• In 2007 the Massachusetts correctional population
  exceeded 25,000 for the first time in the
  commonwealths history.
• As of October 1, 2007 the correctional population
  was
• total population - 25,397
• state prison system 11,188
• county correctional system 14,209

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Population in State and County Correctional
Facilities, 1990 to 2007
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• The correctional system is presently operating
  with a design capacity of 16,000 and a population
  of 25,000
• DOC is presently operating at 143 of design
  capacity
• County system is presently operating at 161 of
  capacity
• Our last major prison construction project
  (Souza-Baranowski) cost 100 million for 1,000
  beds or 100,000 per bed
• To fill this gap of 9,000 beds by prison
  construction would cost 900 million based on a
  conservative estimate of 100,000 per bed

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Population and Capacity in Massachusetts
Correctional Facilities, 1990 to 2007
Current bed shortfall of 9,000 would cost 900
million in construction costs alone.
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Comparison of State Population, Convicted
Defendants, and Defendants Sentenced to
Incarceration and DOC Population by Race /
Ethnicity
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Race / Ethnic Minorities as of All Defendants
by Offense Typeand Grid Assignment
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Suffolk County, Race / Ethnic Minorities as of
All Defendants by Offense Typeand Grid Assignment
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Number of Male Defendants Sentenced to
Incarceration per 100,000 Population, by Age and
Race / Ethnicity (FY2006 and July 2005 Population)
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• Mandatory sentences have a substantial impact on
  overcrowding
• On January 1, 2006 there were 1,607 inmates in
  the DOC and 637 inmates in the county system
  serving mandatory drug terms

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• Mandatory sentences place severe constraints on
  correctional administrators as mandatory inmates
• cannot earn time off their sentences for program
  participation
• cannot be transferred to lower security
• cannot participate in pre-release or work release
  programs
• generally are not eligible for parole because
  imposed sentence is close to mandatory minimum
  (e.g. 5 years to 5 years and 1 day)

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Sentencing Guidelines Grid
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(No Transcript)
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• Historic opportunity exists for comprehensive
  sentencing reform
• Promote fairness and uniformity in sentencing
• Reduce unwarranted disparity in sentencing
• Integrate intermediate sanctions into the
  sentencing grid
• Promote the use of discretionary parole release
  by requiring that the minimum sentence be
  two-thirds of the maximum sentence
• Provide rational predictability for use of
  correctional resources in the future
• Moderate sentencing policies for drug mandatories