Melanie's Story

A first-hand story from the grandfather of 13-year-old victim Melanie Powell
Memories of Melanie: A photo slideshow

STORIES

State ranked among the worst in nation
Quincy judge was among first to take a hard line

GRAPHICS

PART 1
TIMELINE: How Massachusetts drunken driving law has changed
Alcohol's causes and effects
How local and state courts treat repeat drunken drivers
Busiest courts in state for drunken driving arraignments

PART 2
The cost of drunken driving

PART 3
Massachusetts fails compared with other states
Death toll from drunken driving

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Melanie's Bill endangered by petty politics, jealousy

By TOM BENNER ~ Patriot Ledger State House Bureau

BOSTON - A bill aimed at cracking down on repeat drunken drivers is generating an unusual level of political jealousy and spite on Beacon Hill.

Filed in May by Gov. Mitt Romney, the bill is named for 13-year-old Melanie Powell of Marshfield, who killed by a drunken driver two summers ago.

Highlights of Melanie's Law Establish mandatory jail time for repeat drunken drivers. Currently, repeat offenders often receive suspended sentences and probation. Increase minimum penalties and community service for repeat offenders. Mandatory three-month sentence for anyone convicted of drunken driving who is later caught driving with a suspended license. Allow judges to impound and order the sale of vehicles owned by repeat offenders. Mandate lifetime loss of license for a convicted drunken driver who has killed someone and is subsequently convicted of another drunken-driving offense. Require repeat offenders to install ignition interlock devices on their vehicles; the devices would force them to pass a breath test before they could start their cars. Create a new crime for driving drunk with a child under 17 in the car. Create a new crime of aggravated drunken driving for anyone with a blood-alcohol level of 0.20, more than twice the 0.08 limit. (Similar laws are on the books in other states, including Maine.) Increase license suspension from six months to a year for anyone who refuses to take a breath test or field-sobriety test. The penalty increases to three years on a second refusal; five years on a third refusal; and a lifetime suspension on a fourth refusal. Lift the burden on prosecutors by allowing certified records of drunken-driving convictions to be sufficient evidence in proving prior convictions in court. Currently, prosecutors must produce a witness, such as an arresting officer, to be able to introduce past convictions in court.

Rather than sorrow for the victims or rage toward repeat drunken drivers, the center of attention at the State House has been the political battle being fought along increasingly partisan lines.

Some Democrats are openly resentful that Romney and other Republicans, including Sen. Robert Hedlund of Weymouth, are getting credit for the legislation and that they are encouraging family members of drunken driving victims to come to the State House and put in the spotlight lawmakers who want to drag the bill to a slow death.

One Democrat has launched a whisper campaign against Hedlund, suggesting in an e-mail that the state senator's tough stance on drunken drivers is a new phenomenon and noting that Hedlund's picture appears on a web site devoted to fans of Falstaff beer.

Hedlund freely admits he collects bottles and cans from old breweries, such as Falstaff. But he calls the allusion to his hobby a smear campaign aimed at diverting attention from the issue of drunken driving and what the Legislature is going to do about it. It's old-fashioned dirty politics, he said.

"Some people have too much time on their hands," said Hedlund, whose district extends from Weymouth south along the coast to Duxbury.

Pettiness is another emotion the relatives of victims say they've encountered during their time on Beacon Hill.

Earlier this week, the chairman of the Senate committee considering Melanie's Bill refused to meet with Melanie's parents, Tod and Nancy Powell, when they spent the day at the State House lobbying for the bill.

"I won't be a part of anyone's circus," said Sen. Robert Creedon, D-Brockton, the committee chairman.

Creedon said he initially refused the meeting with the Powells in his State House office because the invitation came through Romney's office. The Powells called him directly after being rebuffed and are now scheduled to meet with him at the cafe they own in Plymouth.

Melanie's grandfather, Ron Bersani of Marshfield, said he's appalled by what motivates some legislators. He said some lawmakers have openly told him that they can't support Melanie's Bill because "it's Romney's."

"This is nonpartisan. This is about people's lives," he said.

Others complain that Romney is attempting to score political points with a sympathetic public and is using the memory of a 13-year-old girl and other tragedies of drunken driving to burnish his own image as a law-and-order type.

Some Democrats from the South Shore are as upset as anyone about the lack of action on the drunken driving bill.

Rep. Frank Hynes of Marshfield is a fierce supporter of the provisions in Melanie's Bill. He said he doesn't care who gets credit for it, as long as it gets done.

But he said some of his fellow Democrats might come around if they can share in some pride of authorship. Referring to Creedon and the House chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Rep. Eugene O'Flaherty, D-Chelsea, Hynes added: "Call it the Creedon-O'Flaherty bill, or New and Improved Melanie," he said. "But pass it."

Tom Benner may be reached at tbenner@ledger.com.