Wednesday's Melissa's Bill Testimony in its Entirety

Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin, along with Aldermen Ray Drapeau and Rich Haggerty, joined Rep. Jim Dwyer and Police Chief Philip Mahoney at the State House to  and . 

The officials spoke in honor of , who was shot and killed by a career criminal during an . 

On behalf of Woburn residents, Galvin spoke to state lawmakers Wednesday.

Mayor Scott Galvin: "The good people of Woburn are still reeling from the senseless murder of veteran Woburn Police Officer Jack Maguire at the hands of a violent career criminal who should have never been allowed back out on the street by the parole board. We fully support the hard work of State Rep. Dwyer, and other state officials, who, along with the city and Woburn Police Department, will never stop working to ensure this never happens again.

The need for this reform is clear. We won’t ever forget what happened. We won’t ever forget Jack Maguire."

State Rep. Jim Dwyer: "Thank you Madame Chairman, Mr. Chairman, and the members of the Committee for allowing me to speak today on parole reform: 

As the State Representative from Woburn, I come before you today to testify with a heavy heart. As many of you know, the Woburn Police Department had one of its finest taken from us on December 26th, 2010. Officer John “Jack” Maguire is someone I considered a personal family friend. An officer who was a veteran to the Woburn Police force, and well-known officer throughout Woburn, Jack Maguire was a problem-solver and a true community police officer. He made sure that all was done before an arrest was made. He talked people down from the ledge so-to-speak, and made sure that people saw the better in themselves before they did something that he would have to arrest them for. Jack Maguire was a cop’s cop. But outside of his career, Jack Maguire was a loyal, loving husband, a father of three, a brother, a cousin, an uncle, and the son of a former Woburn Police Chief.

Tragically, Jack was killed in the line of duty while responding to an armed robbery at the Woburn Kohl’s Department store. Jack put himself in between the armed robbers who were fleeing the scene, and the nearest neighborhood to prevent harm to those residing in the area. Jack’s heroism and courage led to him being fatally wounded by a career criminal who should have never been walking the streets of our community and the commonwealth.  

To this day, I am disgusted, and the community is disgusted when the assailant’s name is mentioned. There is no way to describe the heartbreak that family, friends, and the community has felt over losing one of its own heroes. Things like this do not happen in Woburn, but what we have all come to realize in the most difficult of ways is that this can happen anywhere, especially if the circumstances are those in which we face today.

I am here to testify in Jack’s memory and in the remembrance of Melissa Gosule and all those who have been victims of paroled career criminals, so that our citizens and our law enforcement officials can have the much-needed protections and safeguards that must be in place so that situations like this can never happen again. Our state’s parole system failed us. It failed the Maguire family. It failed the Woburn community and our state. Three major areas that I would like to focus on are the unfortunate failures of our current system which I think indicate why we need reform of the parole system, and why we need it now.

First, in what I believe was a complete failure and even dereliction of duty by the parole board was the lack of communication with the District Attorney’s office with regards to Cinelli’s parole board hearing. I include today in my testimony a letter submitted by the Middlesex District Attorney’s office in 2005 outlined the reasons why Cinelli should not have been paroled. Mr. Chairman, I ask that this be made part of the permanent record. This letter, written in 2005, lists in three pages the numerous concerns of the District Attorney’s office as to why Cinelli should not have been granted parole. I find it hard to believe that in three years time after this letter was submitted, that the parole board would have found the necessary so-called “rehabilitation” needed to release Cinelli. As a matter of fact, I would venture to say that if the District Attorney was notified of Cinelli’s parole hearing, the DA could have simply sent the same letter with a new date and it would have caused those on the parole board to take pause. However, the District Attorney was never notified. I strongly believe we need to put into place laws that require the District Attorney to be notified and to confirm that they have received notification before parole hearings are allowed to move forward.

We as a commonwealth need to start treating parole as a privilege and not a right.

Secondly, we must reform, and unfortunately legislate, the way in which the parole board is allowed to deem someone eligible for parole. When the parole board has before them a person serving a life sentence, the parole board should not just have to have a simple majority to grant for parole. In our country, and in our commonwealth, our criminal justice system is based under the burden of proof and premise that decisions of a jury must be beyond a reasonable doubt. What makes the parole board any different? We must make changes to our parole board procedures so that those seeking parole for the most heinous of crimes must receive a 2/3 majority of the parole board to be granted parole. It is common sense this change be made. We need to make sure that our standards for release are high and not just based on “acceptable” risk. If we don’t, there is no incentive for rehabilitation nor is there any incentive to do more than what is required.

Lastly, Mr. Chairman, I think it’s time that we open up our parole board decisions and make the votes of the parole board public record to lift the veil of secrecy behind who voted for release and who voted against release. The public deserves the right to know who made a decision and why it was made, especially when it regards public safety. I can only imagine the outcry that would ensue if the Legislature, the Governor’s Council and any other governmental body were able to hide behind a veil when it came to their voting records. Judges, Probation Officers and Parole Officers have been making recommendations in complete transparency and accountability since our judicial system has existed. We should be holding the Parole Board to these same standards to ensure nothing less than accountability and transparency for the sake of the public safety of all of our citizens.

Mr. Chairman, I more than anyone, understand that the parole board’s decisions are based on judgment. I understand that. But when our system is set up where the simple lack of common sense can allow for the unnecessary death of a police officer or innocent citizen, we must make sure that we have the proper safeguards in place to ensure transparency and accountability to prevent future tragedies from occurring. I strongly believe that before you today are very strong proposals, including Melissa’s Bill and a Bi-Partisan Senate proposal, which we can all come together and take the best parts of to make a common sense, high standard and accountable bill that will address the failures of our parole system.

No one is infallible. That I know firsthand. However, when we don’t address a system that has failed us or a system as so important as the parole board, where lives may be in the balance, we cannot take these responsibilities lightly. It is our responsibility to give voices to the many victims and their families across our commonwealth that have endured what the Maguire and Gosule families have gone through. It is our responsibility to change the system as we know it, especially since it has failed us. If we do not change, then we are failing ourselves and more importantly, failing those that entrusted us with the responsibility to ensure the safety of the public.

Again, I thank you Madame Chairman, and Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to speak and I want to thank the Committee for their consideration of this matter.