Massachusetts H 1618: An Act relative to violent crimes

Bill Text

1 of 2
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3996 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1618

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Tackey Chan
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to violent crimes.
_______________
PETITION OF:

NAME: DISTRICT/ADDRESS: DATE ADDED:
Tackey Chan 2nd Norfolk 1/17/2025
Michael Morrissey Massachusetts District Attorneys
Association, 99 Summer Street,
Boston, MA 02110
1/17/2025
Paul Tucker Massachusetts District Attorneys
Association, 99 Summer Street,
Boston, MA 02110
1/17/2025
Rob Galibois Massachusetts District Attorneys
Association, 99 Summer Street,
Boston, MA 02110
1/17/2025
Timothy Shugrue Massachusetts District Attorneys
Association, 99 Summer Street,
Boston, MA 02110
1/17/2025
David Sullivan Massachusetts District Attorneys
Association, 99 Summer Street,
Boston, MA 02110
1/17/2025
Timothy Cruz Massachusetts District Attorneys
Association, 99 Summer Street,
Boston, MA 02110
1/17/2025

2 of 2
Kevin Hayden Massachusetts District Attorneys
Association, 99 Summer Street,
Boston, MA 02110
1/17/2025
Joseph Early, Jr. Massachusetts District Attorneys
Association, 99 Summer Street,
Boston, MA 02110
1/17/2025

1 of 3
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3996 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1618
By Representative Chan of Quincy, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1618) of Tackey
Chan and others relative to certain violent crimes. The Judiciary.

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 1420 OF 2023-2024.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
_______________

An Act relative to violent crimes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:

1 SECTION 1. Section 52 of Chapter 119 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022
2 Official Edition, is hereby amended in line 18 by inserting after the word “committed,” the
3 following words:- “while under the age of eighteen, murder in violation of section one of chapter
4 two hundred sixty-five; or”
5 SECTION 2. Section 54 of Chapter 119, as so appearing, is hereby amended in line 16
6 by inserting after the second paragraph the following new paragraph:-
7 “The commonwealth may proceed by complaint in juvenile court or in a juvenile session
8 of a district court, as the case may be, or by indictment as provided by chapter two hundred and
9 seventy-seven, if a person while under the age of eighteen is alleged to have committed an
10 offense in violation of section one of chapter two hundred and sixty-five.”

2 of 3
11 SECTION 3. Section 72B of Chapter 119, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
12 inserting at the beginning thereof the following:-
13 “If a person is found guilty or adjudicated delinquent by reason of murder in the first
14 degree committed before his fourteenth birthday under the provisions of section one of chapter
15 two hundred and sixty-five, the person shall be sentenced to 20 years with possibility of parole
16 after 15 years; or if found guilty or adjudicated delinquent by reason of murder in the second
17 degree, the person shall be sentenced to 15 years with possibility of parole after 10 years in
18 accordance with section fifty-eight of chapter one hundred nineteen.”
19 SECTION 4. Chapter 279 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
20 striking out Section 24 and inserting in its place the following:-
21 Section 24. If a convict is sentenced to the state prison, except as a habitual criminal, the
22 court shall not fix the term of imprisonment, but shall fix a maximum and a minimum term for
23 which he may be imprisoned. The maximum term shall not be longer then the longest term fixed
24 by law for the punishment of the crime of which he has been convicted, and the minimum term
25 shall be a term set by the court, except that, where an alternative sentence to a house of
26 correction is permitted for the offense, a minimum state prison term may not be less than one
27 year. In the case of a sentence to life imprisonment, except in the case of a sentence for murder
28 in the first degree, and in the case of multiple life sentences arising out of separate and distinct
29 incidents that occurred at different times, where the second offense occurred subsequent to the
30 first conviction, the court shall fix a minimum term which shall not be less than 15 years nor
31 more than 25 years. In the case of a sentence for murder in the first degree imposed upon a
32 person who has been designated pursuant to subsection (b) of section two of chapter two hundred

3 of 3
33 and sixty-five as eligible for parole, the court shall fix a minimum term which shall not be l