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Melissa's 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 …

Monday, July 30, 2012

Legislature Rejects Governor Patrick's 'Three-Strikes' Amendment

The governor on Saturday sent 'Melissa's Bill' back to the Legislature.

Gov. Deval Patrick set in motion a wave of criticism when he proposed an amendment to the "three strikes"/Melissa's Bill on the grounds it lacked sufficient provisions for judicial discretion.  Warning of possible unintended "unjust consequences" that can arise from mandatory sentencing laws, Patrick wrote in a letter to the Legislature, "None of us is wise or prescient enough to foresee each and every circumstance in which the new habitual offender provisions may apply." On Monday afternoon, the House rejected Patrick's amendment by a vote of 132-23, according to The Boston Globe. Later on Monday, the Senate also rejected the amendment, according to WCVB, Channel 5. The bill's fate is up in the air, as the legislature's summer session …

Janet Sroczynski

8:41 am on Friday, August 3, 2012

Perhaps @Trot Nixon, this will help you and other readers. 1) http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-09-12/politics/30155711_1_solyndra-obama-administration-million-federal-loan Article entitled: "Auditors (PwC-PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP) Raised Red Flags About Obama's Favorite Green Company." Solyndra Scandal Widens. Article by Zeke Miller on September 12, 2011. Business Insider/Politics …   more ›

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