Detaining fentanyl trafficking suspects before trial is Cape DA's goal

Lina Portman3 weeks ago

0 3 minutes read

Fentanyl, a powerful and dangerous synthetic opioid often used as a substitute for heroin, has become the drug of choice for many people battling their addiction in Cape Town and beyond.

Given the seriousness of the problem, Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois, who took office in January 2023, implemented a policy of requesting dangerousness hearings for drug trafficking cases. fentanyl, something he said the previous administration had not done.

“I want them detained,” Galibois said of individuals accused of trafficking fentanyl, which involves possession of at least 10 grams of the substance. “We have seen shocking numbers of fatal and non-fatal overdoses attributed to fentanyl, and it is destroying lives and families. »

Although the Barnstable County Correctional Center in Bourne is used as a short-term detention center for people serving sentences of no more than two and a half years, the majority of people incarcerated there are held pretrial, awaiting trial or their conviction.

When deciding whether to detain a person during pretrial proceedings, the State of Massachusetts uses a variety of factors. One of those is the result of a dangerousness hearing, the outcome of which a judge ultimately determines but which the prosecutor's office can request.

Despite a 32% decrease in the pretrial detention population since 2018, Barnstable County has seen a nearly 100% increase in the number of dangerousness hearings, according to data from the Department of Research and Planning. state trial court and the criminal justice cross-tracking system.

A 98% increase in the number of dangerousness hearings in Barnstable County occurred between 2021 and 2022, according to the Trial Court Research and Planning Department. There have been 61 dangerousness hearings in 2021 and 121 in 2022, with data also showing 170 in 2023 and 147 so far this year.

DA's office says fentanyl trafficking policy reduced overdoses

Galibois said detaining a person accused of trafficking fentanyl is crucial to ensuring public safety, due to the toxicity of the drug in small quantities and the additional complications posed by fentanyl mixed with xylazine, which hinders the effectiveness of Narcan.

“When you’re at this level of drug trafficking, you’re selling poison to people,” Galibois said. “My understanding after checking with our district court team is that the court granted our request to consider people a danger when they are trafficking fentanyl.”

Galibois' office said its policy regarding dangerousness hearings in drug trafficking cases involving fentanyl is effective, citing a 2023 overdose data report for Barnstable County from Kelley Research Associates that showed a decrease 10% increase in non-fatal overdoses since 2022 as well as a 7% decrease. in fatal overdoses.

This year:Hyannis woman, 37, convicted in fentanyl conspiracy case. Here's what you need to know.

“No heroin around anyway.”

“There's no heroin around anyway, you never see any,” said Jeremy Wobecky, 49, a Falmouth resident and former inmate of the Barnstable County Correctional Facility. who has struggled with addiction in the past. “It’s a terrible thing, it’s like you only have one choice if you need to get high, fentanyl.”

Wobecky, who recently lost his brother to a fentanyl overdose, said it is important to look at each case individually to determine whether a dangerousness hearing is warranted. He said most of the time, people who possess fentanyl with the intention of selling it are drug addicts themselves.

“Most people just try to feed their addiction by selling drugs very often. That's their goal, not to make money, just to get high,” Wobecky said. “Obviously, someone who is using fentanyl could have that much in their possession – 10 grams or whatever – without being a trafficker, without being a danger to the community.”

Balancing treatment and incarceration

Ben Forman, research director of the nonprofit Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth, or MassINC, helped author a study outlining a wide range of improvements to the state's prison system. He said new policies regarding incarceration on fentanyl-related charges are a compromise between dynamic criminal justice reforms and old ways of thinking.

“We found that people convicted of drug trafficking are staying in prison on average longer because of the fentanyl enhancements,” Forman said. “But because we have reduced sentences for other drugs, the number of prison years we spend each year incarcerating people for drug trafficking has decreased.”

Forman said more work is needed in areas such as criminal record clearance, housing assistance and treatment services to reduce recidivism and improve overall system outcomes. He also stressed the importance of maintaining the level of treatment to meet drug addiction treatment needs.

“We have decarcerated, but we still need to make alternative investments in the community,” Forman said. “Prisons were like de facto treatment centers, and now, for the most part, these people are no longer going to jails and prisons, they're out in the community seeking treatment.”

Walker Armstrong reports on all things Cape and Islands, focusing primarily on the courts, transportation and the Joint Base Cape Cod military base. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter:@jd__walker.

Lina Portman

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