where do i line up to stick a needle in their arms?

[Mike P]

Originally Posted by stripersnipr

If I'm not mistaken the father in that case is currently or was recently on trial for sexual assaulting another 13 yo family member, which occured before the overdose. Maybe if he was where he belonged (in jail awaiting trial) the 3 yo might still be alive.

In many states, you have a state constitutional right to bail in any non-capital case.

In Massachusetts, you can only be held without bail for first degree murder (still defined on the books as a capital crime), or, if you are charged with a certain designated felony and are found to present a danger to the safety of either another person, or the community at large, after a hearing. MGL ch. 276 sec. 58A

Indecent A&B on a child under 14 probably doesn't qualify under 58A, because use of physical force isn't an element of the crime. Physical force is more than mere touching.

[stripersnipr]

Originally Posted by Mike P

Indecent A&B on a child under 14 probably doesn't qualify under 58A, because use of physical force isn't an element of the crime. Physical force is more than mere touching.

There lies the problem. We need to treat crimes against children a lot differently than we would two drunks assaulting each other in a bar room brawl.

[Mike P]

The other issue with 58A is that you can only hold someone under it for 90 days, absent "good cause" for an extension. The Commonwealth can rarely bring a sex abuse against a child case to trial that quickly. Often there are confidential records that have to be obtained and made available to the defense attorney, and getting those records to a clerk's office usually takes longer than 90 days.

Also--the chances of a case proceeding to trial within 90 days in, say, Brockton District Court, or New Bedford District Court, or the Boston Municipal Court, are right up there with winning the lottery. Volume. Defendants being held in custody have a priority for trials, and many defendants wait 6-9 months for District Court trials. In Superior Court, cases rarely if ever get tried within 6 months.

There's legislation now pending on Beacon Hill that would extend the detention without bail to 120 days and expand the list of 58A designated crimes. Whether it passes or not is another story.