Letter to the Editor: 'Tenacious and Skilled Work' By Hill Led to Melissa's Law
Les Golsule, whose daughter Melissa was killed by a 27-time convicted felon, writes to acknowledge the work by state Rep. Brad Hill, R-Ipswich, to pass Melissa's Bill.
To the Editor: I cannot thank Rep. Brad Hill enough for all the work he did to make Melissa's Law, the state's new habitual offender law, a reality. Brad was the first legislator to sponsor Melissa's Bill following the 1999 murder of my daughter, Melissa Gosule, by a 27-time convicted felon. Brad was among the first to stand with me, even when others said the bill had no chance of passing. Indeed, the bill remained locked up in the judiciary committee for 10 years, until 2011. Yet Brad Hill never gave up. What we lacked in political influence - compared to the powerful criminal defense industry - we had in firm moral conviction and common sense. Brad knew that it was just crazy to keep releasing 5, 20, 50-time violent offenders who just …
In this Article:
Parson Weems
11:39 am on Monday, September 24, 2012
This article describes some solid constituent service by Rep. Hill, but to Ms. Appel it inspires fulsome praise of the "Amazing 36" who comprise the minority party in the legislature; 4 Sens and 32 Reps. That's 36 out of 160 total legislators. Ms. Appel is Chair of the Hamilton Republican Town Committee. (Perhaps she has a more august political title than that one these days in which case I … more ›