Release Dante Starks

Honorable Magistrate Judge Dein

This petition is for people to show support for our beloved neighbor Dante Starks. It will be submitted to the Magistrate at his upcoming Bail Reconsideration Hearing. Dante was swept up in a federal raid in 2017 on a minor drug charge. Because of the racist War on Drugs that targets Black men, an overzealous federal prosecutor is looking to bury him in a federal prison. Although presumed innocent, Dante was denied bail and has been incarcerated for over two years. This pretrial incarceration is unjust and harmful, and it is past time for Dante to be released on bail so he can be at home caring for his three children and preparing for his trial.

Contact Jude (jude.umrosa@gmail.com) or Ayana (aaubourg@justiceashealing.org) if you want more info.

To: Honorable Magistrate Judge Dein
From: [Your Name]

​To the Honorable Magistrate Judge Dein-

We are submitting this petition as members of the Cambridge community to support our neighbor, Dante Starks, of 49 Magee Street in Cambridge in his Reconsideration for Bail Conditions. Concerned community members throughout the Commonwealth join us in this effort.

We urge you to release Mr. Starks to his home in Cambridge pending his trial. He has been incarcerated in the Plymouth House of Corrections awaiting trial for over two years. Plymouth has recently been designated a “red community” because of the high number of COVID-19 infections there. Dante is trapped in a super-spreader environment, placing him at extreme risk of catching the virus. Moreover, Dante is needed at home to care for his three children for whom he is the primary caretaker.

Dante Starks is not a danger to our community. Like many, he has struggled with substance use. We too have family, friends, or our own experiences dealing with substance use disorders, and we firmly believe that treatment, not incarceration, is the most successful path to recovery. Mr. Starks has been drug-free for over two years and has completed multiple programs and classes offered at Plymouth House of Correction. Upon release, he will continue this work and access the many community programs and services available remotely during his home confinement. We believe people deserve the opportunity to grow, heal, and move on with their lives.

We are deeply concerned about the impact Dante’s lengthy pretrial incarceration is having on his family--and most of all his three children. They too are members of our community and have borne the brunt of his prolonged absence as he has been awaiting trial. Mr. Starks is a devoted and loving father who has been the primary caretaker of his children throughout their lives. He does his best through daily phone calls to parent his children and support his mother whose care they are in, but his family is suffering from his absence.

Finally, we are in the midst of a deadly global pandemic. Attorney General Barr has directed the BOP to prioritize home confinement to decrease the risk of COVID-19. We urge you to follow this directive.

For all of these reasons, we respectfully ask that you release Dante Starks on bail without delay. His family needs him home, and COVID-19 cases are surging. Time is of the essence and swift action is needed.