The centerpiece of Kerry Healey’s ridiculous contention that Deval Patrick is “soft on crime” (honestly, how 1980s is that?) is that Patrick supposedly wants to place too many restrictions on access to the CORI (Criminal Offender Records Information) database.
But in an editorial amusingly entitled “Who’s soft on crime now?”, the Globe recalls Kerry Healey’s position on CORI access as stated last year:
But in May 2005, when Healey spoke at a public forum sponsored by the Boston Foundation about CORI reform, she sounded an awful lot like Patrick — and like a number of criminal justice experts who recognize that the CORI system is sometimes inaccurate and often indecipherable….
“We need to take an active interest in making sure that the 20,000 men and women who are leaving our jails and prisons each year have jobs and have housing.” She went on: “One of the concerns around that is the impact of CORI on offenders’ ability to get housing and employment — the key legs of the stool, if you will, to post-release success.”
From those comments, Healey sounded more like Patrick’s running mate than his opponent. Yesterday, Patrick summed up his position: “… we expect that after the debt is paid, people will rejoin productive society. And that means people need to get a job. They need to be able to get an apartment….”
In 2005, Healey raised concerns about the inaccuracies and difficulty in interpreting CORI records and agreed in part with reforms proposed by the Crime and Justice Institute, a Boston-based research group.
Don’t forget, folks – Dr. Healey’s got a Ph.D. in crime! She’s even written four books academic “white papers” about it! She must be an expert.
You’re ruining Kerry’s talking points. Be careful, or else she might have to run and tell Mitt to yell at you.
<
p>Seriously though, if she can’t defend herself against Christy Mihos, Grace Ross, and a polite Deval, without having to have Mitt defend her, what will she do if she’s governor and Sal, Trav, or Terry Murray go after her?
Audio of Lt. Gov. Healey’s remarks at that forum are online at the WGBH Web site. I had problems with the RealPlayer versions, but the mp3 worked OK. And while the whole thing is a couple of hours, her remarks are only a few minutes at the beginning, if you’ve got a broadband connection it won’t take long to listen to them.
<
p>
At that forum, she said that the CORI issue is complex. She acknowledged that policy makers face two important but sometimes competing goals – successful re-entry of released prisoners into society vs. protection of public safety. She called herself “someone who has been a huge advocate for re-entry” and mentioned the importance of re-entry “in the most humane way possible.”
It’s great to see the criminal justice “expert” go against both the public policy consensus and her own prior stance. Honestly, though, what’s she gonna do. Romney’s support for her is sporadic at best; she’s not winning the charisma game; and frankly, voters have got to ask why,if her plan is so good, hasn’t she been able to get much of it done?
<
p>
Scare tactics on crime must look like the best play for a bad hand.
I get CORI’d 2-3 times a year, plus at least one or more FBI b/c’s. I think employers, youth groups, etc. are entitled to know the crimminal history of anyone who may be involved with their organizations.
Its my understanding that a CORI check of a certain County Sheriff would show a sealed criminal history. Shouldn’t this be public imformation?….Oh yes He is a Republican. not that that matters. Or does it? any thoughts?