A long road to sentencing

On March 28, 2011 after nearly four years, Javier Morales was sentenced to prison. The DA requested 18-20 years in prison followed by 20 years probation. The defense attorney requested 5-7 years. The last item before the judge sentenced Morales was for me to address the court. I believe it was worthwhile for the judge to hear and also good for me to do it. She sentenced him to 15-20 years in state prison (15 is when he is first eligible for parole and 20 is a maximum). She also sentenced him to 15 years probation after he is released, with a stipulation that he may never drive a car nor apply for a license again.

The sentence was as good as we could hope for, but it is sad that a person can kill two innocent victims and seriously injure another, and only go to prison for 15-20 years.

Victim Impact Statement - read to the Court on March 28, 2011

Your Honor,
We are Jonathan and Roberta Farris, parents of Paul Farris. Thank you for allowing me to read our Victim Impact Statement prior to your sentencing decision. We have already provided our Statement to the Court, so I will not repeat that.
Our son Paul was a truly unique and wonderful person. In 23 years he positively touched more peoples' lives than many people do in a full lifetime. And then, in the blink of an eye, he was murdered. I unable to imagine any greater grief than losing my son. And we are not alone in our pain. Katelyn Hoyt was injured physically and emotionally, losing the man she loved and having to fight for her own life. Fida and Joseph Chahine must live without their loving husband and father, Walid.
Javier Morales is the antithesis of Paul Farris. This man does not know the meaning of accountability. He does not know the meaning of responsibility. He has spent a lifetime doing whatever he wanted, with complete contempt for the law and complete disregard for the rights of others. And based upon his criminal and vehicular history, he has done so with almost total impunity.
My son Paul was taken away forever, not by an accident, but by Morales' deliberate actions. And now for me not one single day passes without feeling profound grief. All of us, our families, and friends of Paul and Walid are cursed to live with this grief forever.
Morales' impunity ends today. He will be held responsible for his terrible crime. But to what degree will he be held accountable?
My son is dead. Joseph's father is dead. Javier Morales killed them. So Your Honor, I implore you to put this man in prison for as many years as the judicial system allows. He must not be allowed to hurt, maim or kill any other innocents.

Farris family's Statement to the Court, November 2010

Many family members and friends sent Statements to the Court. We know these helped the judge with her decision process.

Your Honor,

Thank you for allowing us input regarding Javier Morales' sentencing. We are Jonathan, Roberta and Scott Farris, Paul Farris' parents and brother.

At 4:30 AM on May 27, 2007 we received a call that no family should ever get - an emergency room doctor in Somerville telling us Paul had died in a car accident earlier that evening. There are simply not words or emotions to explain what that call was like. From that instant on and for every minute since, our lives have been inexorably changed for the worse. Our incredible son and brother, Paul, was taken from our lives and from the lives of so many who knew and loved him. We will never heal from the emotional scars. We invite you to spend time at our website, www.paulfarris.org, to see, to hear and to better understand who we have forever lost.

It took several days to learn exactly what had happened that night; to learn why Paul and Walid Chahine died and why Katelyn Hoyt was so severely injured that she too almost died. Paul is dead because Javier Morales was illegally behind the wheel of a car. Paul is dead because Javier Morales ran from a police officer. Paul is dead because a police officer made a horrible mistake pursuing Morales through the narrow streets of Somerville.

Paul was an amazing 23 year old. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Tufts University in 2006 and had been working as an insurance claims adjuster for a year. He had already taken his LSATs and planned to attend law school in the fall of 2008. Paul had absolutely everything going for him. Javier Morales killed him.

This was not an accident, but rather Morales' deliberate and criminal flight from the police that caused Paul's death. The borrowed SUV was going 76 mph, without headlights, on a narrow street in the most densely populated city in all New England. Whether Javier Morales had fired a gun that night or because he drove a 4,000 pound SUV that ripped Paul from the taxi - the result was the death of both Paul and Walid Chahine. Javier Morales killed them. Additionally, Katelyn Hoyt was so severely injured that she was unconscious for nearly four weeks. She remained in Massachusetts General Hospital for four months and has since continued rehabilitation with her parents in New York.

Since at least 1995 Javier Morales has broken motor vehicle and other laws, has hurt people, and has never shown the slightest remorse. It is frighteningly obvious that Morales will again get behind the wheel of a car at the first possible opportunity.

You are aware of Morales' criminal history and the number of times he has been released and forgiven. Perhaps his previous crimes were not as heinous as those of other criminals. But on May 27, 2007 he crossed that threshold when he deliberately ran from the police while illegally driving, and this time our son and Scott's brother, Paul Farris, and Walid Chahine both died as a result.

So Your Honor, we absolutely implore you to lock this criminal up for the maximum length of time allowed by Massachusetts law, because anything less would be an injustice to Paul, Walid, Kate and all of us who must live with pain and sadness every day for the rest of our lives.

Respectfully,

Jonathan, Roberta & Scott Farris

A totally broken justice system

Morales arrest history as provided by a Boston newspaper in 2007:    
 
When Javier Morales faced his first adult arraignment in 1995, Jessica LeBlanc, his now pregnant girlfriend was 8. The May 24 arraignment was almost 12 years to the day of a fatal accident involving LeBlanc's father s car, which was being driven by Morales. The victim of the crash, Paul Farris, was 14 the first time his accused murder stood before a judge.
 
These are the charges Morales has stood before judges on:
 
1. On May 24, 1995 Morales was arraigned in South Boston District Court for a compulsory insurance violation and operating a motor vehicle without a license. Morales defaulted, did not show up to court to answer for the charges and warrants were issued. Both charges were dismissed on May 1, 2001.
 
2. On Aug. 23, 1995 Morales was arraigned in Brookline District Court and charged with a compulsory insurance violation. The case was closed on Sept. 22, 1995 when the case was ruled nolle prosequi, which means the charges were dismissed as if they had never been brought because of insufficient evidence.
 
3. On May 24, 1996 Morales was arraigned in Dedham District Court and charged with trespassing. The trial was continued until Aug 7, 1999 and charges were continued without finding, which means the accused does not have a guilty plea entered on his or her record, but must comply with terms of probation. One year later, Morales defaulted on an order to pay court costs and a fine to the victim witness fund and a default warrant was issued. Four days later, the warrant was withdrawn and police dropped the charges on Sept. 3, 1997.
 
4. Morales was arraigned on Aug. 12, 1997 in Lynn District Court for disorderly conduct. The trial was continued until Oct. 3, 1997 and the charge was continued without finding. On April 3, 1998 Morales was sentenced to community service and ordered to pay a fine to the witness victim fund. On Feb. 3, 1998 Morales appeared in court on allegations that he had violated his probation, which was terminated on April 14, 1998.

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5. On Feb. 3, 1998 Morales was in Lynn District Court answering to charges of assault and battery, a possible violation of his probation. The trial was continued and on April 14, 1998 he was found guilty and sentenced to probation. Morales defaulted on paying into the victim witness fund on Aug. 2, 1999, but the default was removed the next day and police dismissed the charge on Dec. 3, 1999.
 
6. On April 30, 2001 Morales was arraigned in West Roxbury District Court on charges of malicious destruction of property, attempted larceny, possession of burglarious tools, and breaking and entering in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony. His trial was continued and he was issued a one-year suspended sentence on July 17, 2001. His trial was brought forward on Oct. 12, 2001 because of a probation violation. A judge issued a violation of probation finding and continued the trial to Jan. 17, 2003 at which time Morales was ordered to pay into the victim witness fund and his probation was terminated.
 
7. On Oct. 12, 2001 Morales was charged with operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, attaching the wrong motor vehicle plates, and compulsory insurance violation. A judge ordered him to pay court costs for all three charges and the trial was continued to March 4, 2002. Morales defaulted, the default was removed, and the trial was continued to June 24, 2002. Morales defaulted again, but the default was removed on July 2, 2002 and the charges were dismissed.
 
8. On June 4, 2004 Morales was charged with operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license in Roxbury District Court. The trial was continued to Aug. 12, 2004 and a default warrant was issued when Morales did not show up. The default was removed on Sept. 14 and the trial was continued to Nov. 30, 2004. Morales again defaulted, the default was removed on Feb. 18, 2005 and the trial continued to April 29, 2005, when he defaulted again and a warrant was issued. On Dec. 1, 2005 the default was removed and the charge was dismissed.
 
9. Morales was charged with operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license and knowingly receiving stolen property (a motor vehicle) in Somerville District Court on Oct. 14, 2004. He had a jury trial and was found guilty of the license violation on Sept. 28, 2005. The other charge was dismissed. He was sentenced to a 10 day suspended sentence, which was terminated on Nov. 30, 2005.
 
10.On Nov. 17, 2005 Morales was arraigned on the charge of operating a vehicle with a suspended license in Concord District Court. He was in court on Dec. 27, 2005; Jan. 30, 2006; and on March 7, 2006 he was found guilty. Morales was sentenced to supervised probation and received a 10-day suspended sentence. He was ordered to pay a fine to the victim witness fund on Sept. 6, 2006 and defaulted on Oct. 31, 2006.
 
11.On May 29, 2007 Morales was arraigned from his hospital bed at Massachusetts General Hospital for Somerville District Court on the following charges: motor vehicular homicide by negligent operation, failure to stop for police, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, speeding, larceny of a motor vehicle, operation of a motor vehicle with a suspended license (subsequent offence), 10 counts of failure to stop or yield, marked lanes violation, breakdown lane violation, motor vehicle lights violation, improper turn. He was ordered held on $100,000 cash bail and a pre-trial conference has been scheduled for June 29.

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