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Baker: 'Shame On Us' If Mass. Doesn't Fix Serial Child Rapist Laws

BOSTON (CBS/AP) – Governor Charlie Baker says it's time Massachusetts changes the laws regarding convicted sex offenders so the state isn't faced with another case similar to Wayne Chapman.

Chapman, 70, is on the verge of being released from MCI-Shirley, where he's been held since 1977. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison for raping two boys from Lawrence. When Chapman finished his sentence in 2007, prosecutors fought for a civil commitment to keep him locked up as "a sexually dangerous person."

But this year, when he petitioned for a review, two psychologists the state considers experts said he's no longer a danger. Under current law, the Department of Corrections must release him.

Wayne Chapman
Wayne Chapman. (Photo credit: Mass Sex Offender Registry)

Last month, attorney Wendy Murphy filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Judicial Court in an attempt to keep Chapman locked up. But Justice Scott Kafker said the proper requirements for Chapman's release were followed under the law. Murphy is now trying to convince the full court to review the matter.

"This guy should never get out and I think it's unfortunate, disgraceful in some respects, that we find ourselves in this position," Baker told reporters Tuesday. "But if we don't learn from this experience and make adjustments so it can't happen in the future, shame on us."

"We now have a Supreme Judicial Court decision that says Wayne Chapman's rights under the current law would permit him to be released. That obviously speaks to current law, which is obviously a big part of the problem," the governor said.

"We're going to file legislation later this week to do two things. Number one for serial child rapists, to significantly expand the penalties associated with that, and number two to change the way this process works."

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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