Word: cellucci
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...Cellucci's first initiative, which would tie the hands of judges and turn the sentencing process into some sort of mathematical equation, is not the answer. Cellucci has said the state should adopt strict sentencing guidelines, drawn up in 1994 but never implemented. The sentencing rules would severely curtail a judge's discretion in determining a criminal's punishment. By matching a defendant's previous record against the crime, a grid would reveal the maximum penalty a judge could give. Two-thirds of that sentence would be the minimum. If the judge issued a sentence outside those bounds, either...
...first place, many feel that the guidelines are not strong enough. Cellucci himself considers them far too lenient. "You could beat your wife or girlfriend six times and still not go to jail. That's ridiculous," Cellucci told The Boston Globe. The state's district attorneys agree, and so the guidelines have not yet been adopted...
...Cellucci's bill that would allow prosecutors to appeal criminal sentences is perhaps even more startling. Such a change would destroy one of the most basic guarantees of the American judicial system: "Nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb." Once a criminal is sentenced, however leniently, prosecutors should not have the power to go back and ask that the sentence be lengthened. Allowing a prosecutor to appeal a sentence would skew the delicate balance of power away from the legitimate rights of the defendant...
Commenting on this case, Cellucci has shown a peculiar callousness to the guarantees in the judicial system that protect the rights of defendants. "Instead of protecting the defendant from the prosecutors," Cellucci has said, "the judge should be protecting the public from the defendant." Coming from a high public official, Cellucci's comment is even more irresponsible. Of course the justice system exists to protect the public. However, only a police state disregards the rights of defendants in order to accomplish that goal. That would indeed be a high price to pay to protect the public...
...seems clear that Horton deserved a much harsher sentence, though no one knows what confidential information Lopez considered in her chambers. Regardless, Gov. Cellucci's responses to this sordid affair have done little to help. His proposals would result in more injustice than they would prevent...