Page 42 - BusinessWest November 9, 2020

victim-witness advocate, and the Child Abuse Unit so that Berkshire County citizens receive the fair and equitable justice they deserve whenever they come into contact with the Berkshire DA’s Office.”
Impact Statement
The race for DA in 2018 wasn’t Harrington’s first bid for public office. Indeed, two years earlier, she ran, unsuccessfully, for a state Senate seat. It was a moment in her life that would in many ways crystalize all that came
“It’s sad to look back at someone’s life and recognize that, if there had been other kinds of intervention earlier on, then these really terrible crimes could have been prevented.”
before — and pave the way for all that has followed.
But before getting to that race, we need to go back further and explain how she got there.
As noted, Harrington, inspired by the characters on L.A. Law and other shows, and those real-life role models as well, graduated
from the University of Washington and earned her juris doctor degree from American University Washington College of Law in 2003. One of her early career stops involved work representing convicted death-row inmates in post-conviction appeals in South Florida, which she described as eye-opening.
“That experience drove home for me how much power law enforcement does have over people’s lives,” she noted. “And also, how vital it is that we have prosecutors and police who have a healthy respect for the constitutional rights of defendants, and for civil rights.”
Elaborating, she said her work, which involved both the guilt and penalty phrases of these convictions, often centered on why such heinous and tragic crimes were committed. “And this gave me a different kind of lens — more of a problem-solving lens,” she said. “It’s sad to
look back at someone’s life and recognize that,
if there had been other kinds of intervention earlier on, then these really terrible crimes could have been prevented.”
After Florida, Harrington amassed more than a dozen years of legal practice, much of it defense work, while also raising a family — and watching her native Berkshire County change, for the worse.
“I was working in the courts, I had two young kids, and I was frustrated by what I was seeing in Berkshire County,” she explained. “In the courts, we see the big societal problems, we see the effects of the economic downturn in high rates of domestic violence, lack of opportunity, and drug use.
Harrington
Continued on page A34
Andrea Harrington says she’s adjusted the focus of the criminal-justice system in the Berkshires from one focused on punishment to one centered on problem solving.
Congratulations to the 2020 Women of Impact Awardees!
• Tania Barber
• Helen-Caulton Harris • Carol Campbell
• Patricia Hallberg
• Andrea Harrington • Toni Hendrix
• Christina Royal
• Sue Stubbs
Jean M. Deliso, CFP®
Financial Adviser, Eagle Strategies LLC, A Registered Investment Adviser. Registered Representative
NYLIFE Securities LLC,
Member FINRA/SIPC,
A Licensed Insurance Agency.
Financial and Insurance Services
B (413) 785-1100 • www.delisofinancialservices.com
Women of Financial Planning Services are offered through Eagle Strategies LLC. Eagle Strategies and NYLIFE Securities are New York Life companies.
540 Meadow St. Ext. • Suite 108 • Agawam, MA 01001
Deliso Financial and Insurance Services is not owned or operated by Eagle Strategies, NYLIFE Securities LLC or any of their affiliates.
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