THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION is not doing enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19 because it has failed to take meaningful steps to reduce its prison population, prisoners’ rights advocates […]
Criminal Justice
Posted inCriminal Justice
Department of Correction finally hires ombudsman
AFTER A DELAY of several months, the Department of Correction has entered into a contract with the University of Massachusetts Medical School to create an ombudsman’s office within the department. […]
Posted inOpinion
Witnessing history at the Sirhan parole hearing
THE 1960s marked a profound change in the American psyche. Gone was the optimism of the post-World War II era as Americans began to embrace a profound distrust of their […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
RFK assassin’s parole recommendation ignites passions in divided family
MOST OF THOSE with first-hand memories of his assassination have probably reached initial eligibility for Social Security. But 53 years after Robert F. Kennedy was gunned down in a Los […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
PrEP must be available behind bars
IN AN EFFORT to reduce HIV transmission, the Biden administration released new guidance in July mandating that medical insurers provide free access to medication that prevents transmission of HIV. Although […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
A call for mayoral candidates to address gun violence
A PROMINENT BLACK MINISTER who was part of the clergy-police partnership in the 1990s that helped stem gun violence in Boston is calling on the five mayoral candidates to offer […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Ombudsman position at Correction Dept. still unfilled
AS THE COVID-19 pandemic spread through the prison system, lawmakers inserted an item into last year’s budget bill creating a new position of ombudsman at the Department of Correction. The ombudsman was […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Home where youth worker was killed saw recent rise in assaults
THE SPRINGFIELD HOME for court-involved juveniles where youth worker James Hillman was fatally assaulted on June 30 was no stranger to violent altercations – and in fact, the number of […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Rollins received severance agreement from Massport
SUFFOLK COUNTY District Attorney Rachael Rollins, who was nominated last week by President Biden to become the next US attorney for the District of Massachusetts, has a very strong resume, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Lawsuit says DOC accused lawyers, inmates based faulty drug test
ARE LAWYERS ACTUALLY sending letters to inmates in Massachusetts prisons that are meant not so much to be read but smoked? It sounds like the plot to a zany dramedy, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Report rips Boston police handling of Rose case
A CITY-COMMISSIONED REPORT into the case involving former Boston police officer Patrick Rose, who was charged with child sexual abuse in the mid 1990s but nonetheless remained on the force […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Suffolk DA Rollins nominated to be US attorney
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE PRESIDENT BIDEN ON MONDAY nominated Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins to serve as the state’s top federal prosecutor, a historic move that could reshape the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Dorchester Youth Collaborative reopens — under new agency
AFTER SURVIVING BATTLES with both colon and prostate cancer in recent years, Emmett Folgert knows something about rebounding when things aren’t looking great. So he insisted it wasn’t time to […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
James Hillman, DYS youth worker attacked by juvenile, dies
AN EMPLOYEE WHO worked at a residence for juvenile offenders in Springfield has died weeks after he was attacked by a juvenile who lived there. The employee was identified by […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Activists seek moratorium on prison construction
MASSACHUSETTS HAS THE lowest incarceration rate in the country and its inmate population continues to decline steadily, yet the state is still investing heavily in prisons and jails. A bill […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Violent hate crimes put residents on edge
IN WINTHROP last month, a man described by District Attorney Rachael Rollins as a white supremacist with “hate in his heart” gunned down a retired state trooper and a retired […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Berkshire district attorney aims to open ‘black box’ of plea negotiations
MOST CRIMINAL CASES never make it to trial. Nationally, around 90 to 95 percent of cases are resolved through a guilty plea, where the prosecutor and defendant reach a negotiated […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Board of Bar Overseers finds misconduct in Farak case
THE BOARD OF BAR Overseers has found that three assistant attorneys general engaged in numerous acts of misconduct related to the Attorney General’s prosecution of drug lab chemist Sonja Farak. In […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
DYS worker assaulted, suffers life-threatening injuries
AN EMPLOYEE at a Department of Youth Services facility in Springfield suffered life-threatening injuries after being assaulted by a juvenile housed there. The victim, who has not been identified, is hospitalized […]
Posted inOpinion
Boston Police need policies for dealing with children
After this commentary piece was submitted, the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission issued guidance on how police forces in Massachusetts should deal with minor children. To read the guidance, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Department of Correction moves to end solitary confinement
THE MASSACHUSETTS Department of Correction on Tuesday announced its intention to end solitary confinement as currently constituted within three years, based on the recommendations of an independent consultant. “This comprehensive […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Former candidate arrested on campaign finance charges
A FORMER Massachusetts congressional candidate was arrested Tuesday and accused of soliciting at least $125,000 of illegal campaign contributions from friends and family members and steering some of the funds […]
Posted inHealth Care
Prisoner advocates seek overhaul of inmate mental health treatment
SEVEN MONTHS AFTER the Department of Justice issued a scathing report about the treatment of inmates with mental illness in Massachusetts prisons, advocates for prisoners and people with mental illness […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Changing the conversation on gun violence
THE MAY 26 San Jose murders, where a gunman opened fire at a public transit rail yard, killing nine people, further illustrate that this country’s epidemic of gun violence makes […]
