AMID GROWING NATIONAL AWARENESS of the problems of racially biased policing, the Supreme Judicial Court will have a chance to weigh in on a tactic that is increasingly drawing scrutiny: the […]
Criminal Justice
Posted inCriminal Justice
After ruling, Rollins pledges review of Gaines case
SUFFOLK COUNTY District Attorney Rachael Rollins, who fought against the release of convicted murderer Raymond Gaines, now says her office is reviewing his case after a judge ordered Gaines’s release amid new evidence that casts […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Convicted murderer Raymond Gaines freed after 46 years amid new evidence
NEARLY 46 YEARS after Raymond Gaines was sent to prison for murder, a Suffolk Superior Court judge on Wednesday ordered his release after new evidence raised questions about his guilt, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker proposes new seatbelt, traffic camera law
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Monday proposed a slew of changes to improve road safety, including enhancing penalties for injuring someone while driving with a suspended license, letting municipalities install red light […]
Posted inOpinion
College, sheriff team up to reduce recidivism
THE UNITED STATES puts more of our citizens in jail than any other country on the planet. While we have only 5 percent of the world’s total population, we have […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Under federal law, it can pay to read your bills closely
THE $2.6 MILLION settlement the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary agreed to earlier this week with the US Justice Department started out with a single customer who believed he was […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Cracks in the thin blue line
IT WAS A day of national focus on policing, a moment when people at least began to allow for the possibility that there might be change in a seemingly never-ending […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Downing opposes new prison for women
DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL candidate Ben Downing said the Baker administration should abandon any plans to build a new prison for women inmates in Norfolk, saying “investing in incarceration is the exact […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Internal affairs file shows former police commissioner Evans was informed of Rose findings
ACTING MAYOR KIM JANEY released information from the internal affairs investigation of former police officer Patrick Rose Sr. that paints a damning picture of the conduct of leaders of the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Defund the police, or defang the gangs?
The “defund the police” slogan, born out of anguish and anger over police killing of unarmed black men, has existed uneasily alongside another painful reality: the predominantly black neighborhoods that […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Janey says internal records on officer to be released
ACTING BOSTON Mayor Kim Janey said late Monday afternoon that she has ordered the city’s law department to review “as quickly as possible” internal affairs records related to former police officer Patrick Rose […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
City councilors call on Janey to release records on former police officer
THREE BOSTON CITY COUNCILORS on Monday called on the city’s new acting mayor and the Boston Police Department to release records of internal investigations related to former police officer Patrick […]
Posted inPolitics
Janey expects report on Boston police commissioner Dennis White this month
ACTING BOSTON MAYOR Kim Janey said she expects the investigation into domestic violence allegations against Boston’s police commissioner to be completed sometime this month — and she voiced mixed sentiments […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Rachael Rollins on vindication of her decline-to-prosecute policy
RACHAEL ROLLINS made headlines during her 2018 run for Suffolk County district attorney when she said, if elected, the office would not prosecute those charged with a set of 15 […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
DCF head admits agency failed David Almond
THE TOP MASSACHUSETTS officials charged with protecting vulnerable children admitted Wednesday that the system failed badly in not preventing the death of Fall River teenager David Almond. “It is clear to […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
What happened to David Almond?
The state Office of the Child Advocate released a scathing 106-page report on Wednesday detailing enormous failures by the Department of Children and Families and others that ultimately led to […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Scathing report details DCF failures leading to death of Fall River boy
THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES failed autistic teenager David Almond time and time again, making inexplicable decisions and ignoring danger signs until the 14-year-old died, emaciated and bruised, allegedly at […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
State considering major expansion of child abuse reporting laws
FOR YEARS, Larry Nassar sexually abused female athletes under the guise of medical treatment while serving as the doctor for USA Gymnastics. Nassar was eventually convicted on multiple felony charges and sentenced to more […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Study finds not prosecuting misdemeanors reduces defendants’ subsequent arrests
A STUDY EXAMINING the effect of declining to prosecute lower-level nonviolent offenses — a signature policy adopted by Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins that has drawn both praise and scorn […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Cops, docs, and systemic racism
REFORM COMMISSIONS AT the state and national level have been charged with exploring ways to improve law enforcement, with a particular focus on addressing the issues of racism and racial […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Pandemic has laid bare inequities in legal system
ON MARCH 18, 1963, in the landmark case of Gideon v. Wainwright, the United States Supreme Court established the right to counsel across the nation. Since that moment there has been an ongoing […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Report finds no racial profiling by Needham police
INVESTIGATORS HIRED by the town of Needham concluded “the weight of the available evidence” suggests four white police officers did not engage in racial profiling last year when they arrested […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
To reduce recidivism, address the root causes
DURING A BROADCAST town hall forum late last month, President Biden took issue with the way some jurisdictions release inmates. “You get 25 bucks and a bus ticket. You end […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Boston center’s gang database lists 3,853 people.
THE DIRECTOR of the Boston Regional Intelligence Center said on Tuesday that the center’s gang database is comprised of 3,853 people with active status. In a hearing held by the […]
