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 battle not over

‘Hopefully this thing will iron out so there will be real strong drunk driving laws’

By TOM BENNER
Patriot Ledger State House Bureau

BOSTON - Backers of Melanie’s Bill vow to keep the pressure on state lawmakers for tougher legislation that cracks down on repeat drunken drivers.

“We’re at the two-minute mark in the game, and we need a touchdown, not a field goal,” said Ed Melia of Quincy, who lost a great-granddaughter in an August accident involving a repeat offender. “Hopefully this thing will iron out so there will be real strong drunk driving laws in the state of Massachusetts.”

Gov. Mitt Romney is vowing to return to lawmakers a bill sent to his desk yesterday that drops several key provisions of the original version of Melanie’s Bill, named for Melanie Powell of Marshfield, a 13-year-old girl killed by a repeat drunken driver in 2003.

“I am hopeful the Legislature will accept these changes and pass the toughest bill possible,” Romney said. “We owe no less to the children of Massachusetts. And we owe no less to Melanie Powell and the hundreds of others who have lost their lives to repeat drunk drivers.”

The bill passed yesterday in the Senate fails to impose a one-year mandatory license loss for refusing to take a Breathalyzer. Critics say drunken driving suspects frequently beat the rap by not taking the breath test.

The bill also does not allow prosecutors to use court records alone - as opposed to eyewitness accounts or the original arresting officers - to prove someone had been convicted of a past drunken driving offense.

How they voted How the South Shore state senators voted yesterday on the pared-down version of Melanie’s Bill. The total vote was 32-7 Yes Sen. Robert Creedon, D-Brockton Sen. Brian A. Joyce, D-Milton Sen. Michael Morrissey, D-Quincy Sen. Therese Murray, D-Plymouth Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton Sen. James Timility, D-Walpole No Sen. Robert Hedlund, R-Weymouth

Both the House and Senate previously approved bills that contained the provision, but it was stricken by a conference committee before the House gave the bill its approval Wednesday. Five of the six members of the committee are lawyers who have represented drunken driving defendants.

“The right thing would have been to give us a law that was truly Melanie’s law and one that made it easier to get drunk drivers convicted,” said Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey. “What they’ve done is given a law with some penalties in there, but made it almost impossible to get anyone convicted of drunk driving.”

Sen. Robert Hedlund, a Weymouth Republican who has pushed for Melanie’s Bill, said the version of the bill passed yesterday is gutted.

“We are now rolling out a shiny new vehicle for everyone to look at, but there’s one small problem, there’s no engine, there’s no drive train for this vehicle, we’re sitting on blocks,” Hedlund said. “It still keeps in place a system where defense attorneys have a strategy to allow their clients, by refusing to take the Breathalyzer, to be successful in court in defeating a drunk driving charge.”

Romney has 10 days to sign or veto the law, or return it to the Legislature with an amendment restoring the original provisions of the bill.

Melanie Powell’s grandfather, Ron Bersani of Marshfield, said he and other supporters will urge lawmakers to support the strengthened version of the bill.

Bersani said he is frustrated that lawmakers who also work as criminal defense lawyers were successful in paring down the original version of the bill.

“Whatever the final version of this bill is, it is probably going to be it for drunk driving bills for a while,” Bersani said. “We doubt much else is going to get done.”

Senate President Robert Travaglini defended the most recent version of the bill, which is the result of a compromise between a relatively tougher Senate draft and a weaker House version.

“I’m very pleased with it,” said Travaglini, an East Boston Democrat. “There is significant tightening of the existing regulations, we did the ignition lock, we remove the temporary licenses, we stiffen the penalties significantly, especially if you have an OUI with a child in the car. We went way beyond, and we have some of the toughest laws in the nation now.”

Travaglini said a provision allowing certified court records to be used in sentencing repeat offenders will be passed separately, assuming the state supreme court issues an advisory opinion upholding the constitutionality of the provision.

Sen. Robert Creedon, a Brockton Democrat who helped draft the tougher Senate version of the bill, calls the current version a first step in preventing repeat OUI offenses.

“From my standpoint this isn’t the end of it,” Creedon said. “We have to deal with the problematic drunk driver, and this bill still doesn’t do it.”

Romney’s expected return of an amended version of the bill would automatically go to the House, where the measure enjoys less support than in the Senate.

Rep. Vinny deMacedo, a Plymouth Democrat who supports a tougher version of Melanie’s Bill, said public outrage over the number of accidents involving repeat offenders will continue to put pressure on lawmakers.

“This issue doesn’t go away,” deMacedo said. “The sad reality is that drunk drivers are on the road and another sad horror story like Melanie is going to come up.”