July 28, 2000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE…
Contact Betsy Weiner: 413-599-4785

BILL PROTECTING STALKING VICTIMS NOW ON GOVERNOR'S DESK

BOSTON—Representative Gale D. Candaras (D-Wilbraham) announced today that a bill she supported in order to protect victims of stalking was sent to the desk of Governor Paul Cellucci. Until now, men and woman who are stalked, but cannot prove they were overtly threatened, have had no protection under Massachusetts’s law. This bill changes that by criminalizing stalking behavior that is not accompanied by an overt threat. This crime will be known as “criminal harassment,” and will carry a lessor penalty than stalking accompanied by a threat.

“Daily, we hear stories of threatening behavior which the present stalking law does not reach,” said Candaras, a long time advocate for women and victims of domestic crimes. “This bill will not only appropriately punish extremely damaging behavior, but will intervene in stalking situations before they become life threatening. I am pleased that the House and Senate have acted to fill this gap in our criminal laws.”

“A person should never have to endure harassment, said Senator Cynthia Creem, Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Criminal Justice. “Now, law enforcement will have the ability to step in and stop harassment before it escalates into violence or ends in death.”

The bill may help save the lives of victims who suffer as Sandra Berfield of Everett did before she was killed. Berfield died opening a package bomb, which allegedly was sent to her by a man who had been stalking her for over a year. The district attorney’s office was not able to prosecute Berfield’s stalker because the man did not overtly threaten her.

“The passage of this legislation should serve as a strong message to those who, until now, have avoided the penalties for the harm they inflict upon others,” said Judith Beals, executive director of Jane Doe, Inc. “It also stands as a lasting tribute to the life of Sandra Berfield. Our only regret is that it did not come soon enough to save her.”

Although the Berfield tragedy brought a great deal of attention to the stalking issue, Candaras stressed that she supported the bill long before the bombing incident and has worked throughout the past 18 months with her House and Senate colleagues to see it enacted by both chambers this week. “This bill is the result of a great deal of work and compromise on the part of my colleagues in both the House and Senate, as well as the advocates,” she said.

“This new measure provides law enforcement with a tool to protect victims from repetitive, inappropriate harassment, which places them in fear and distress, and really ought to be a crime,” said Representative Stephen Tobin (D-Quincy), house chair of the Joint Committee on Criminal Justice.