STATE HOUSE NEWS MAJOR PROVISIONS of the criminal justice bill passed late last week by the Senate “just seem to not make a heck of a lot of sense,” Gov. […]
Criminal Justice
Posted inCriminal Justice
Criminal justice bill can be game changer for young adults
THE COMMONWEALTH’S criminal justice reform efforts offer a unique opportunity to achieve a triple impact: improve public safety, reduce public spending on crime prevention, and redefine futures for our highest-risk […]
Posted inPolitics
Top Baker aide offers sex offender fixes
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE IN RESPONSE TO A CRITICAL AUDIT, the state’s top public safety official on Tuesday outlined changes that could be made at the agency tasked with monitoring […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Anti-violence funds jeopardized by House-Senate flap
THE SENATE IS taking the lead on Beacon Hill on criminal justice reform, but the chamber seems to have lost its way on a key initiative to help gang members […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Brownsberger’s big tent
IF POLITICS IS a game of addition, put Sen. Will Brownsberger down in the plus column. The lead sponsor of a sweeping criminal justice reform bill convened a marathon rally […]
Posted inOpinion
Inequality, criminal justice reform are linked
FOR ALL THE TALK about inequality these days, it’s rare to see policy proposals that could actually make a difference. Politicians of all persuasions rail against the disappearing middle class, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Trading gangs and guns for a future
PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK OSTOW HAKEEM JACKSON DOESN’T mince words. “Just a couple of years ago I was shooting at people,” he says. A wiry 20-year-old with an affable bearing, Jackson […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Middlesex DA Ryan backs mandatory minimum repeal
MIDDLESEX DISTRICT ATTORNEY Marian Ryan said she supports many pieces of the Senate criminal justice bill unveiled last week, including the repeal of some mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Middlesex DA Ryan supports repeal of some mandatory minimum drug sentences
Here is the statement released by Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan on October 5, 2017, on the Senate criminal justice reform legislation: “As a prosecutor for more than thirty […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Conley opens the door to repeal of some mandatory minimums
Here is the statement provided on October 3, 2017, by Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley on the Senate criminal justice reform bill: “Massachusetts has among the lowest violent crime […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Senate goes big on criminal justice bill
THE SENATE IS poised to consider a wide-ranging criminal justice bill that would reform everything from the bail system to mandatory minimum sentences and fees and penalties that weigh heavily […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Forensic science commission is needed
LET’S TALK NUMBERS, specifically 23,595. As of June 1, 2017, that was the number of convictions that were vacated as a result of Annie Dookhan’s misconduct at the Hinton Drug […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
House, Senate poised to go separate ways on criminal justice bills
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE HOUSE AND SENATE appear poised to go their separate ways on the major issue of criminal justice reform, perhaps meeting in the middle at some […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Codfather’s day of reckoning is here
ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY, Federal District Court Judge William Young will sentence New Bedford-based fishing magnate Carlos Rafael for his extraordinary crimes. Sometimes referred to as “the Codfather,” Rafael pled […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker opens a legal can of worms
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER filed new legislation last month to battle the opioid crisis. His bill proposes some “important updates” to our arsenal of weapons in this fight, one of which, he […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Warren rips Baker ‘flip-flop’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S new bill targeting drug dealers make him a flip-flopper, according to gubernatorial candidate Setti Warren, who appears to be taking a stance against […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker pushes new drug dealing charges
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A YEAR AFTER WORKING with the Legislature to try to stem the flow of opioids and improve addiction treatment options, Gov. Charlie Baker is targeting the […]
Posted inGambling
Convictions shouldn’t preclude all casino jobs
THE MGM SPRINGFIELD CASINO is scheduled to open late next year, and casino managers are worrying about how they’ll fill all the jobs that will need filling. The big problem: […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Healey outlines criminal justice vision
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY sent a letter to two key lawmakers this week outlining her vision for criminal justice reform, including an overhaul of bail and […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC blocks local detentions for ICE
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE LAW DOES NOT permit officials to detain immigrants solely at the request of federal immigration officials, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Monday, putting up a […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion, Politics
Solution to domestic violence homicide: Fewer guns or more guns?
SINCE 2012, THERE have been 82 domestic violence homicides in Massachusetts, many involving the use of a gun. What’s to be done about these tragedies? The Legislature’s Judiciary Committee heard […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
ACLU campaign to spotlight crucial role of DAs
THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION of Massachusetts says it plans to mount a campaign this fall urging voters to hold the state’s elected district attorneys accountable for the way the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Senate retreat to hear from criminal justice experts
LEADERS OF THE SENATE, including President Stan Rosenberg and William Brownsberger, the Senate chairman of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, have made clear their support for a range of […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
The high toll of inmate phone calls
IT’S EASY TO take ordinary conveniences like making a telephone call for granted. Advances in technology have made communication cheaper and higher quality than ever before. But one group has […]
