By Jim O'Sullivan
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, JUNE 6, 2007….Despite outside lobbying for the appointment of a behavioral scientist to the state Parole Board, the Governor's Council appears likely to confirm next week Gov. Deval Patrick's first nominee, a police officer.
Mark Conrad, like Patrick a Milton resident, won lavish praise from elected officials and other witnesses, and provoked no personal criticism from his opponents.
But several defense attorneys and mental health professionals said the Parole Board should include behavioral scientists instead of another law enforcement official. No behavioral scientist has joined the seven-member board since the Dukakis administration, councilors said.
Also Wednesday, the council approved an early retirement pension of approximately $97,000 per year for a Chelsea judge with coronary artery disease. Marie Jackson, a 27-year veteran of the bench, would have retired at roughly $85,000 per year had she not received approval, her attorney said. Jackson, 59, suffers from several heart conditions.
Answering councilors' questions in the Council Chambers, Conrad said he has "a passion, a zest, a zeal that can't be measured in this room," adding, "You just don't understand how committed I am to this cause."
Conrad said he is empathetic with prisoners, and has a brother who has suffered from mental illness and been in trouble for marijuana possession. "Even as a law enforcement person, I didn't feel that he needed to be locked up," Conrad said.
Conrad's sister, he said, is a prominent Detroit city official, and is a two-time candidate for mayor there.
Conrad said he would make parole decisions based on principles of "fairness," saying, "I'm not going to make the right decision all the time."
Pressed for an express threshold for parole, Conrad said, "There needs to be a sense of remorse, but that should not be the only determining factor."
Patrick, who has worked as both a federal civil rights prosecutor and a defense attorney, was blistered during the campaign for alleged weaknesses in his public safety stances, and responded that as governor he would enact "smarter," more comprehensive policies. The governor backs reform of the state's Criminal Offender Record Information system and wants some minimum mandatory sentencing laws rolled back in favor of stronger post-release supervision for low-level offenders. Public Safety Secretary Kevin Burke is studying sentencing issues and Patrick's anti-crime council will report back next month.
Conrad's nomination drew a series of testimonies from several critics who pointed out that the board includes no psychologists, psychiatrists, or criminal defense attorneys. Rep. Ruth Balser (D-Newton), House chair of the Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse, said she is "deeply concerned about the composition of the parole board," and believes the state is less safe because of it.
About half of the state's inmates are considered ineligible for parole, Parole Board chairwoman Maureen Walsh said. "That's one of the major issues that faces and haunts the Commonwealth."
Leslie Walker, executive director of the Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services, said mentally ill prisoners are paroled less frequently, and described cases where people were denied parole then eventually discharged directly to the street, with no supervision.
An ordained deacon at the Morningstar Baptist Church in Mattapan, Conrad said his life has been shaped by his faith. He grew emotional and paused for several moments when speaking to the council about his mother, who died of breast cancer when he was 14.
Morningstar Pastor John Borders described Conrad with the word integrity, and drew a laugh saying, "He has a dominating presence on his motorcycle."
William Moran, the 18-year-old son of one of Conrad's best friends, said, "He's very respectful, but he doesn't have to say it in order to get it."
Councilor Marilyn Petitto Devaney said that after speaking with Conrad, and without knowing of his religious work, she would have guessed him a minister. "I don't know how you ever got into police work," she said.
Devaney has been in legal trouble lately, with police alleging she flung a shopping bag with a curling iron in it at a store clerk.
Later, Councilor Thomas Foley, former colonel of the State Police, said he was "kind of surprised at some of the comments that have been made in the room."
Before becoming a police officer, Conrad, who also runs a small security firm, worked in employment development.
At least three councilors said during Conrad's hearing that they planned to vote for him, while none openly opposed him.
The vote on Conrad is scheduled for next week. If confirmed, he will serve until June 2012.
One councilor voted against the retirement package for Jackson. Councilor Mary-Ellen Manning said the system is in need of reform and should not be open to special deals like Jackson's. Manning said private-sector workers don't have the opportunity to make "an end run" around the pension system. Devaney abstained from voting, saying she thought the council should be given another week to weigh the matter.
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