BOSTON MAYOR Michelle Wu’s plan to clear tents from the Mass. and Cass homeless camping site by January 12 is long overdue. If only it had been done earlier, the […]
Criminal Justice
Posted inCriminal Justice
Healey appeals dismissal in Soldiers’ Home case
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ATTORNEY GENERAL Maura Healey announced Tuesday that she is appealing the recent dismissal of grand jury indictments against two former Holyoke Soldiers’ Home officials in connection […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Rollins confirmed as US Attorney; Harris breaks tie vote
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH A PARTY-LINE VOTE that had to be broken by Vice President Kamala Harris, the US Senate on Wednesday confirmed Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Murder defendant challenges police use of ‘tower dump’
IN 2018, law enforcement officers were investigating five armed robberies and a sixth attempt in Dorchester, Mattapan, and Canton, one of which led to a fatal shooting. The police believed the same perpetrator, with a getaway driver, committed all […]
Posted inOpinion
Benjamin LaGuer and the cruel reality of medical parole
THE CRUELTY Benjamin LaGuer endured through a lifetime of privation, isolation, and vilification lasted until the day he died in prison in the early morning hours after the 2020 election […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Judge dismisses criminal charges against Bennett Walsh
A HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT judge on Monday dismissed all criminal charges against former Holyoke Soldiers’ Home superintendent Bennett Walsh and medical director David Clinton for their roles in the deadly […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Berkshire DA Harrington part of effort to shed light on plea deals
BERKSHIRE DISTRICT ATTORNEY Andrea Harrington is participating in a unique national pilot program to track what goes into negotiating plea deals by prosecutors in her office. If she discovers race plays […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
High court sides with DOC on prison COVID rules
THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT ruled Thursday that the Department of Correction has not been “deliberately indifferent” to inmates’ health during the COVID pandemic, because it took precautions and, most significantly, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Bill would let Tompkins hold men solely for substance use treatment
SUFFOLK COUNTY SHERIFF Steven Tompkins could get permission to treat people civilly committed for substance use disorders in the Suffolk County jail, under a bill pending before the Legislature that […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker refiles marijuana-impaired driving bill
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Wednesday announced that he is taking another run at passing a bill to stop people from driving while impaired by marijuana. Baker said the bill will […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Can sheriffs collect lucrative commissions from inmate phone calls?
FOR YEARS, Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson’s office collected hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in telephone fees paid by family members, attorneys, and others who received calls from county […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
12 charged in lottery deception scheme
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A DOZEN PEOPLE and three stores were indicted Friday by a statewide grand jury in connection to what Attorney General Maura Healey’s office called “an ongoing […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Drug Addiction
A fix for the crisis at Mass. and Cass?
ACTING MAYOR Kim Janey declared last week that Boston will move to dismantle the tent city of homeless people that has grown in the area of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Tsarnaev appeal centers on juror bias in the social media age
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Common license. THE US SUPREME COURT heard oral argument last week in the case of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the lone surviving […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Hampden DA notifying 8,000 criminal defendants of police misconduct
AMID NATIONAL CALLS for police reform and greater transparency in law enforcement, the Springfield Police Department has become a troubling example of what can happen without strong public accountability. Last […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Trial Court chief Paula Carey to retire
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE TRIAL COURT CHIEF JUSTICE Paula Carey, one of the most influential figures in the Massachusetts judiciary, plans to retire early next year after the better part […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Juvenile delinquency dropped during pandemic
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC’S disproportionate impact by race has been well-documented in areas including health outcomes, remote work, and education. Now, add one more disparity: juvenile justice. A report released Wednesday […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC sides with sheriffs in COVID testing case
WHEN THE SUPREME Judicial Court justices heard a case about whether sheriffs needed to do more COVID testing in jails, they sounded skeptical, questioning why more screening was necessary when […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Vaccine fight only latest bad headline for State Police
IT’S NOT AS IF the Massachusetts State Police were on a particularly great run already. The department has been hit by one scandal after another, mostly centered on overtime fraud […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
William Allen’s case for commutation
WHEN COVID-19 broke out at the Old Colony Correctional Center where William Allen was incarcerated, the immunocompromised prisoner in his 40s volunteered to clean the showers on the COVID unit because someone had […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Nangle gets 15 months in prison
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A FEDERAL JUDGE sentenced former Rep. David Nangle to 15 months in prison on Wednesday after the Lowell Democrat pleaded guilty earlier this year to illegally […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
As sentencing approaches, 2 sides of Nangle emerge
IS FORMER STATE Rep. David Nangle a corrupt politician and expert at the legislative quid pro quo, or is he a compassionate, caring man felled by an addiction to gambling? Sentencing memos written by […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC sets limits on use of police body camera footage
AS THE MASSACHUSETTS Legislature continues to study how to regulate police-worn body cameras, the Supreme Judicial Court on Friday established legal limits on how body camera footage can be used. […]
Posted inOpinion
A public safety agenda for the next mayor
THE BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT is currently facing a paradox. On the one hand, many in the police department view the agency as a national model for future policing. On the […]
