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Worcester County sheriff says list of inmates up for early release will be short

Telegram & Gazette - 4/2/2020

WEST BOYLSTON - Worcester County Sheriff Lewis G. Evangelidis is preparing a list of inmates who might be considered for early release because of risks presented by the coronavirus crisis. Bit he said there are very few who would be appropriate to be put back on the streets early.

The short list is in anticipation of a decision by the state Supreme Judicial Court on a proposal to release certain inmates from detention across the state.

"We're looking at the overall public safety," Evangelidis said, noting that inmates considered for release would be evaluated on criteria including dangerousness. "Frankly, I would find that very few would be appropriate for early release."

Evangelidis and David H. Tuttle, superintendent of the Worcester County Jail and House of Correction, said in a phone interview Wednesday that since the Legislature passed criminal justice reform, many non-violent offenders have avoided prison, some being sent to diversion programs instead. People being sentenced to prison now have a lot more violent convictions on their records and would not be suitable for early release, they said. The West Boylston facility, which can hold 1,252 inmates, on Monday had 743.

While incarcerated, inmates receive medical and other services such as drug rehabilitation and mental health counseling. Those services may not be available to them upon unconditional release.

"If someone doesn't have a job or services, how is it going to benefit anyone to put them back on the street?" asked Tuttle.

After a virtual hearing on Tuesday, the SJC is considering a compromise proposal from the Committee for Public Counsel Services and the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers that would facilitate the release of some inmates being held on bail to lower the population in detention centers during the COVID-19 crisis. Those accused of serious crimes would not be eligible.

The original proposal called for a mass release of certain prisoners, which was opposed by district attorneys across the state and the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association.

Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. was among seven DA's who issued a press release before the SJC hearing on Tuesday. The group said they prefer that inmates be considered on a case-by-case basis in hearings before judges, who would make individual decisions considering the totality of the circumstances. The original proposal, they said, completely ignored the dangers associated with the unconditional release of thousands of pretrial and convicted inmates, which would come without re-entry planning or subsequent supervision.

"The chance of recidivism would increase and jeopardize public safety and place additional pressure on law enforcement and a court system that are already stretching to ensure public safety and health during this unprecedented pandemic," the seven district attorneys said.

Early said a mass release would also trample victims' rights, which among other things guarantee that victims be heard regarding the release of their offenders, and notified of the release. He said he is not going to agree to release sex offenders or those with a history of domestic violence.

"We're in charge of public safety," Early said over the phone Wednesday. "You can talk about the benefits of early release as opposed to the danger (to the public). If public safety is at risk, it trumps the virus."

Jane Sullivan, head of the appeals unit for Early's office, who presented an argument by phone to the SJC Tuesday, said district attorneys' offices and courts already have been working to develop procedures to determine whether someone can be released.

"If there are cases that we agree to, we do," she said.

Timothy J. Connolly, spokesman for the Worcester district attorney's office, said during the last two and a half weeks, during Worcester Superior Court telephone bail hearings, there were six cases of people seeking bail reductions in which the judge decided against it. He said three people's bail amounts were reduced with agreement of the district attorney's office, and in seven other cases, the judge reduced bail without the agreement of the district attorney's office.

Evangelidis said there are no presumed or positive cases of the coronavirus among the inmates in West Boylston. He said the facility has 25 test kits. No one has been tested because no one has been symptomatic.

New arrivals are taken to the jail in vans that are sanitized before and after the trip. They are screened outside for temperatures and other information before being placed in medical isolation in a stand-alone self-contained building for 14 days. There have been about 40 new arrivals to the 119-bed building in the past three weeks, the officials said, and 27 remain there. Some are in single cells. Those taken to the facility in the same van are kept together, but no more than two to a cell. They are monitored several times a day by medical staff as well as mental health clinicians.

Because they are quarantined, they are provided two free calls each week so they can stay in touch with family. They also receive a radio, crossword puzzles and self-help packages that the mental health clinicians put together. When they are brought out of their cells for controlled use of telephones or to make purchases at the canteen, they wear masks.

Evangelidis said the number of new arrivals has dramatically dropped since the courts closed. He said he has heard that people arrested are being released on personal recognizance, posting bail or being summoned to court after being arraigned at the police station. The number of new arrivals to the jail has gone from about 50 a week to about 10, he said.

The facility also has a separate housing unit that has 60 beds that would be used should any prisoners become infected, the officials said.

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