The Case Against Keating: Seven-Time Offender Flees Court Date, Still Gets Deal
Washington- Bill Keating’s revolving door for criminals continues to offer repeat offenders with deals that help put them back on the streets more quickly despite their violent pasts. In 2006, Keating cut a deal with a man accused of assaulting his girlfriend so brutally that the judge said that had he been found guilty after trial, he would have sentenced him to all the time he could. The man had already skipped out on his arraignment and was arrested again shortly thereafter. Unsurprisingly, Keating cut the criminal a deal that reduced the charges and allowed the criminal to avoid a trial despite a criminal history that the judge called “horrendous.”
“Bill Keating’s willingness to look the other way when it comes to repeat violent offenders paints a disturbing picture of a man who utterly lacks the character it takes to represent Massachusetts families,” said NRCC spokeswoman Joanna Burgos. “Keating’s leniency toward violent criminals continues to put dangerous people back onto the streets. If there was ever any question that Keating was unfit to serve in Congress, his willingness to jeopardize the safety and security of the people he’s supposed to serve should remove any doubt.”
KEATING’S PLEA DEAL: Keating’s office cut a deal with Dennis Harrington, a criminal with a history of at least seven assault charges. In 2006, Harrington was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend, then skipped out on his arraignment and was subsequently arrested again. Keating’s office still offered Harrington a plea deal and reduced charges.
THE RESULT: The judge called the defendant’s history “horrendous,” and said of Harrington, “I would have sentenced you to all the time I could,” had Harrington been convicted at trial. According to a witness in the case, “I’ve never seen anyone hit a woman like that.” Yet, Keating eagerly cut a deal for reduced charges in the brutal beating.
“A Quincy man who was released without bail after assaulting his girlfriend pleaded guilty to reduced charges yesterday on the eve of his trial…”
“Quincy District Judge Thomas S. Barrett said Harrington will be on probation for one year and must attend a program for batterers.
“‘I don’t know what possesses people’ who assault women, ‘especially when it’s the mother of your children,” Barrett told Harrington. If Harrington had been found guilty after trial, ‘I would have sentenced you to all the time I could,’ the judge said. ‘If you come back, that is what will happen.’
“On June 14, Harrington pulled Jacquelyn Little, 22, out of a car, threw her to the ground, punched her, and dragged her up the front stairs of 129-131 Quincy St. as her head bumped the treads.
“Later that night, Quincy District Court Clerk Arthur H. Tobin released Harrington on his own recognizance…”
“Harrington skipped his arraignment the next afternoon. Police picked him up on July 10. He has been held on $10,000 cash bail or $100,000 bond since then.
“Police originally charged Harrington with three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon. He also faced one count of assault with a dangerous weapon for allegedly beating a man with a baseball bat outside a Quincy bar on May 12.
“Prosecutors yesterday dismissed the May 12 case and reduced the other charges to one count of assault and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon…”
“Harrington’s record includes at least seven assault charges from 1996 to 2002. In 1996, when he was 18, he was charged with beating a bicycle rider while he was out on bail on another assault charge and on probation for a third assault case.
“‘You have a horrendous record,’ Barrett told Harrington.” (Sue Reinert, “In Plea Deal, Quincy Man Jailed for Attacking Girlfriend,” Quincy Patriot Ledger, 9/8/06)
“Among the findings: Defendants who copped to pleas in Norfolk County to forcible rape and attempted rape were sentenced to less than half the amount of time as those in Plymouth County.” (Karen Eschbacher, “Investigative Report; Bargaining For Justice; Do A Crime, Serve Less Time In Norfolk. DAs Take Different Routes To Justice,” The Patriot Ledger, 6/25/05)
Additionally, the report also shows that defendants who admitted guilt in cases that involved drugs and robbery were less likely to receive incarceration than those who pleaded guilty to similar crimes the same neighboring county: