Mayor Sarno states, “Simply put, our legal system is broken! Not only are repeat violent criminal offenders released out on little to no bail, but now criminals, even murderers, apparently have more rights than victims and their families. Our State is slowly making the victims of crime invisible while giving our must violent criminals, including murderers, another chance to go back out into our communities and poison our streets, terrorize our neighborhoods and potentially take another innocent life from us. What the hell are some of these judges doing! This ill-advised decision by the SJC is what the court stated in their ruling, ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ but not for the individual convicted of murder – the most heinous of crimes, but for the families of the victims who must now have to relive this trauma and most tragic moment of their lives, losing a loved one to murder.”
Mayor Sarno continued, “As the Republican Editorial correctly put it:
‘Persons 18 and older are considered adults under Massachusetts law. They can serve on a jury, get married, enter into contracts and refuse medical treatment even if that treatment is life-saving. We as a society grant these privileges in exchange for the expectation that the same person, 18 or older, will be held to account for their actions under the laws applicable to all adults.’
And,
‘The crime of murder in the first degree (the crime this despicable person committed) requires the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant acted with deliberate premeditation and/or extreme atrocity…. It therefore defies common sense to conclude that a person who is guilty of committing this premediated offense is, at the same time, too immature or impulsive to be excused from the penalty otherwise applicable to all other adults (life in prison).’
“I wholeheartedly agree with these statements and will continue to fight for my residents and continue to make public safety my administrations number one priority. Not only will I continue to push my bail reform legislation that was refiled by state Representative Angelo J. Puppolo, but I will continue to stand with those families that have suffered and lost a loved one to murder. Recently, the Owens family, who lost their 16-year-old daughter Kelsea Owens to a gruesome murder, reached out to me about this situation. I promised to stand steadfast by them and submit a letter of support and testimony on behalf of the family. While their daughter’s murderer gets to wake up every morning and go to sleep every night, the Owens family will forever have that empty chair at their kitchen table not only during the holidays but every day. To have to once again relive this traumatic and painful part of their life is unacceptable and our Commonwealth must do better.”
Attached is a copy of Mayor Sarno’s letter to the Owens family and a picture of their daughter Kelsea Owens.
