“WE’RE SAYING to the judiciary: ‘Stay in your lane.’” That’s how Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey summed up the letter he sent in May to Trial Court Chief Justice Paula Carey. […]
Criminal Justice
Posted inThe Download
Pepper-sprayed man accuses Northampton of racial bias
For most police officers, pepper spray is standard equipment, a tool lauded in the law enforcement world as an alternative to lethal force. But a case in Northampton is raising […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Pepper-sprayed man accuses Northampton of racial bias
FOR MOST POLICE OFFICERS, pepper spray is standard equipment, a tool lauded in the law enforcement world as an alternative to lethal force. But a case in Northampton is raising […]
Posted inGuns
Gun violence prevention program needs to engage community
LAST YEAR, when the National Rifle Association told physicians advocating for increased gun control to “stay in their lane,” the move backfired for the organization by inspiring emergency room doctors […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Police group blasts Warren over Ferguson comments
ELIZABETH WARREN IS IN HOT WATER over a comment marking the fifth anniversary of the Ferguson, Missouri, police shooting of Michael Brown. Warren tweeted that Officer Darren Wilson “murdered” the 18-year-old black man […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
The complicated legacy of ‘broken windows’ policing
DRAWING ON LESSONS he learned as a seminarian, social worker, and then probation officer, George Kelling became a major thinker on law enforcement, envisioning a new approach to policing that […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
When did it become a crime to fight for good jobs?
THE FEDERAL TRIAL of Tim Sullivan and Ken Brissette has upended the notion of Boston City Hall fighting for the interests of its residents. When I was Mayor Ray Flynn’s […]
Posted inOpinion
Justice reinvestment gets seed funding in budget
AS MASSACHUSETTS IMPLEMENTS last year’s sweeping criminal justice reform package, we must stay focused on justice reinvestment—the effort to squeeze more public safety from limited resources by reducing prison terms […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
McGrath provides services for women leaving prison
A LITTLE OVER A YEAR after it closed, a new and improved McGrath House is up and running as the only exclusively female residential reentry program in Massachusetts. McGrath serves […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
You call that extortion?
WAS BOSTON CALLING’S hiring of union labor in 2014 an extorted demand? Or a bargaining chip? While federal prosecutors continue to make their case that it was the former, a […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Is Rollins right to be angry?
SUFFOLK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY Rachael Rollins and 19 educators who support her approach to justice are angry about a Boston Globe story examining her record in prosecuting crimes over the […]
Posted inOpinion
Boston professors criticize Globe over Rollins
A group of 19 Boston-area university and law school faculty members sent an open letter to The Boston Globe in response to what they call “misleading reporting” about Suffolk County […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker undermining solitary confinement initiative
LAST YEAR’S CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM LAW tried to nudge the state toward a more humane policy on solitary confinement in the state’s prisons and jails by adding due process protections for […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Helping survivors after homicide
FOR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS of victims, each homicide enthralls their lives, almost paralyzing them from day-to-day activities. All it takes is one homicide for it to impact dozens of lives. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Health Care
Ortiz case showcases Dominican justice system
THE MEDICAL CARE DAVID ORTIZ is receiving in Boston as he recovers from a gunshot wound is some of the best in the world, but the same superlatives cannot be […]
Posted inThe Download
Trial recalls 2014 horror in Blackstone
The murder trial of Erika Murray is a gut-turning tragedy that defines callousness. Murray is facing charges of murdering two infants discovered in her Blackstone home five years ago. A […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Trial recalls 2014 horror in Blackstone
THE MURDER TRIAL of Erika Murray is a gut-turning tragedy that defines callousness. Murray is facing charges of murdering two infants discovered in her Blackstone home five years ago. A […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Sen. Brady settles drunk driving case
Updated at 5:18 p.m. SEN. MICHAEL BRADY of Brockton on Tuesday avoided the hazards of a criminal trial in connection with his March 2018 drunk driving arrest, agreeing to a […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
From Kraft and Brady (but not that Brady), an apology — and vigorous legal defense
KRAFT AND BRADY. The two names will be forever linked in local lore for their roles in a football dynasty to rival all others. But the names are also now […]
Posted inThe Download
O’Keefe jumps jurisdictions with charges against Rollins
The state’s district attorneys are generally in the business of bringing charges against alleged criminal offenders, not against each other. But Cape and Islands DA Michael O’Keefe’s op-ed in yesterday’s […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
O’Keefe jumps jurisdictions with charges against Rollins
THE STATE’S DISTRICT ATTORNEYS are generally in the business of bringing charges against alleged criminal offenders, not against each other. But Cape and Islands DA Michael O’Keefe’s op-ed in yesterday’s […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Rollins, ICE make nice
SUFFOLK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY Rachael Rollins said on Tuesday that her office has had better cooperation with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement since she and a fellow DA filed a […]
Posted inOpinion
Boston officials need to fund violence prevention
BOSTON MAYOR MARTY WALSH recently submitted his proposed fiscal 2020 operating and capital budget to the Boston City Council. From April 22 to May 21, the City Council held hearing […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Family support alone not enough for reentry from prison
In a recent speech about criminal justice reform, Georgia politician Stacey Abrams said something that those of us who work with people making the transition from incarceration back […]
