CUMMINGTON — The soft rumble of the Litchfields’ car engine breaks the silence of the early Cummington morning before first light.
A half-hour earlier, at 4:30 a.m., 27-year-old William Litchfield had rolled out of bed to prepare for a 17-hour day, split between two jobs and evening substance abuse groups.
But first, he’s got to get there. For now, that means his wife has to drive him on an odyssey that covers nearly 100 miles a day.
“It’s like a mini-job for me,” said his wife, Nicole Litchfield, also 27, referring to the nearly four hours a day she spends transporting her husband, who was convicted of heroin possession and other offenses in 2015 and sentenced to a year in jail. “But if I didn’t drive him, it would be pointless.”
Since 1989, convicted drug offenders in Massachusetts have lost their driver’s licenses for up to five years, regardless of whether the crime involved a motor vehicle. Additionally, offenders had to pay a license reinstatement fee of at least $500, a steep penalty for people emerging from jail to rebuild their lives.
On March 30, the prospects for Litchfield and other offenders improved when Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law a bill repealing the automatic license suspensions for most drug crimes not related to the operation of a motor vehicle.
The legislation clears the way for many drug offenders to get their licenses back and waives the $500 fee. (Certain drug trafficking convictions are not covered by the new law.)
“I am pleased to sign legislation providing opportunities for those convicted of drug offenses and who have served their time to re-enter society, find and keep a job and support their families,” Baker said. “Removing this significant barrier to re-entry reduces the prospect of recidivism as individuals continue treatment or recovery and (it) gives them a better chance at getting back on their feet.”
Litchfield is the first to admit his long history on the wrong side of the law, with multiple convictions and jail terms. In May 2015, he was arrested on a warrant for failing to show up in court on a larceny charge. During the arrest, he was found in possession of heroin.
When he was released from the Hampshire County Jail in February, he knew the law that existed then barring drug offenders from driving would put yet another roadblock in his path. As much as he wanted to reform himself, Litchfield said, it just seemed so hard.
“I was just beginning to think it wasn’t meant for me to change,” he said. One day in February, he said, he spent nearly $100 for a round trip taxi from Cummington to his job in Easthampton.
Litchfield’s first job is in Easthampton, his second job is in Plainfield, and his substance abuse groups rotate among various western Massachusetts towns.
“It’s often an unfair penalty to suspend someone’s license when the conviction has nothing to do with operating a vehicle,” said Jesse Adams, a Northampton attorney and City Council member who applauded the new law. “Especially in western Massachusetts, where we are not in a large urban area with endless public transportation.”
Tina Cote, an administrator at Franklin Regional Transit Authority (FRTA), said there are no regular public transportation routes that serve Cummington or the towns that border it.
“What we have is a demand-response service setup, for people who are either over 60, living in a nursing home, or a veteran with at least 70 percent disability,” she said, adding that the demand-response van serves Chesterfield, Goshen, Plainfield and Worthington, in addition to Cummington. Because Cummington only pays $2,265 a year for transportation services, FRTA is unable to provide services beyond those for the elderly and veterans, she said.
Patrick Cahillane, assistant superintendent at the Hampshire County Jail and House of Correction, said that out of roughly 240 inmates at the jail, 40 of them are in for charges related to a drug crime that previously could have prevented them from getting a license upon release.
He said the jail’s mission is to prepare inmates to re-enter society, and a driver’s license is “vitally important.”
“If we, as a society, are trying to make people whole going back into the community, they are in need of a license to do many things,” Cahillane said. He added that not only is travel complicated without a license, but a lot of offenders also depend on it for identification.
When asked about his criminal history, Litchfield said he has “lost track,” but estimates serving between eight and 14 stints in jail. After spiraling into serious heroin addiction beginning in 2011, he said, he began “taking risks a normal person would not have taken.” Litchfield has also faced another heroin possession charge along with charges of larceny, assault and battery on a police officer, and repeatedly resisting arrest.
“I feel like most of my life I’ve wasted drugging and getting into trouble with the law,” he said. “I know I can be a better person.”
But knowing his potential is not enough for Litchfield. He depends on almost daily visits to local substance abuse groups to help him stay clean. The groups he attends take place in Haydenville, Plainfield, Williamsburg, West Cummington, Northampton and Buckland.
In prior instances, Litchfield said he began using heroin the same day he was released from jail.
When he stepped out of jail this time, Litchfield knew he had to do something different. He immediately picked up the phone — calling for help instead of for drugs. Waiting on the other end was a representative from Bridging the Gap, a program affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous that provides free transportation to treatment programs.
Litchfield said he appreciates the support he received from staff members at the Hampshire County Jail. “There are really positive people in my life who want to see me succeed.”
He is also thankful to Baker for changing the law, because it’s “important for someone who’s really trying to change and become a better person, especially living in a very rural location.”
Still, his path is not smoothly paved. He will not get his license back until he has paid outstanding speeding tickets, excise tax and parking tickets, and completed National Safety Council Driver retraining classes due to an accumulation of motor vehicle offenses.
Litchfield must pay nearly $1,500 to address all of these items, which he estimates will take him about two to three months. Nevertheless, he said he is grateful to no longer face the $500 reinstatement fee.
On April 25, he visited the Registry of Motor Vehicles in Springfield for a hearing on the status of his license. Hearings officer Kerry Poniatowski told him the recent law change “helps out immensely,” because drug offenses will now be removed from his driving record “like they never happened.”
But, she said, he may have to wait until October to drive — three months past the date he would originally have been eligible — because the charges must be manually removed from his driving record. The wait time is long due to the vast number of people affected by this change.
“Approximately 7,000 people had their license suspended last year due to a drug conviction, even if that conviction had nothing to do with the operation of a motor vehicle,” Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, D-Amherst, said in a statement supporting the new law.
Litchfield said he was disappointed by news of the delay, but he is not ready to give up.
“When I was using, I felt physically worn out, exhausted, and couldn’t get out of bed and function unless I was high,” he said. “I just want to change.”
“I see a big difference in him,” said Nicole Litchfield, who works as a home health aide. Getting his license back, she said, serves as a gateway to a new beginning.
Until he can drive again, he said, he contributes by filling the car with gas and doing the oil changes. The car’s tires are worn down and he is planning to replace them.
In the past, Litchfield said, he has only held jobs long enough to get one paycheck. At that point, he’d quit and use the money to feed his addiction.
It has been five months since Litchfield began working full-time as a woodworker at an Easthampton company.
“They know my situation,” Litchfield said, “and they’re giving me a chance.” He said his employer sometimes allows him to work overtime.
While the road to recovery is anything but clear, Litchfield said he’s grateful he got caught when he did because he thinks otherwise he would be dead.
Piecing his life together can be stressful, he said, but this time he actually wants to create a better life for himself and his family.
“Before, I was doing it for all the wrong reasons,” he said, regarding his previous re-entry attempts. “It feels good that I’m doing it the honest way.”
Sarah Crosby can be reached at scrosby@gazettenet.com.