In his rant to the legislature, Fagan says: “”Let me tell you why it’s so wrong, It’s so wrong because in these situations . . . that 6-year-old is going to sit in front of me, or somebody far worse than me and I’m going to rip them apart. I’m going to make sure that the rest of their life is ruined. That when they’re 8 years old they throw up; when they’re 12 years old, they won’t sleep. When they’re 19 years old they’ll have nightmares and they’ll never have a relationship with anybody. And that’s not because I’m a nice guy. That’s because when you’re in court, and you’re defending somebody’s liberty, and you’re facing a mandatory sentence of those draconian proportions, you have to do every single thing you can do on behalf of your client. That is your obligation as a trial lawyer.”
I doubt seriously that Fagan was actually promising to destroy children on the stand but saying, in an unbelievably moronic way, that the higher penalties would make trials more vicious and protracted. Yet, his method of conveying this point was not just an embarrassment for himself but all criminal defense attorneys.
Fagan represents the Third Bristol District, including the city of Taunton. He is a 1973 graduate of Suffolk Law School.
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