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| End to Mass. County Work Release Sought After Rape Alleged |
| By Boston Globe/Associated Press |
| Published: 05/13/2002 |
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Days after an unsupervised inmate allegedly raped a disabled woman in her Andover apartment, the Essex County sheriff pledged that corrections officers will oversee prisoners in the county's work-release programs. But the sister of the woman says the announcement by Sheriff Frank Cousins Jr. doesn't go far enough. Arguing that current work-release programs endanger the disabled and the elderly, Paula Ojemann said the state should halt all such programs until they can be revamped to ensure that inmates don't have contact with vulnerable citizens. Massachusetts has a troubled history with programs that release prisoners into the community. State Representative A. Stephen Tobin, cochairman of the joint criminal justice committee, said there is widespread support for the programs in the Legislature and that lawmakers are unlikely to endorse a ban, even a temporary one. Tobin advocated the stiffest possible sentence for the culprit in last week's attack, but said the state should be wary of overreacting. The inmate Alexander Matei, 38, allegedly walked away from his job at the Andover Housing Authority, broke into Ojemann's sister's apartment, assaulted her, then returned to his work crew. Ojemann's sister is developmentally disabled and partially blind. Badly beaten, she was taken to Lawrence General Hospital. |
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