This is the era of criminal justice reform. States across the country are reexamining criminal justice policies with an eye toward addressing the ignoble distinction the US holds of claiming […]
Criminal Justice
Posted inCriminal Justice, Health Care, Opinion
Making addiction treatment work for inmates
AS A PHYSICIAN, who treats and supports individuals battling substance abuse, I try to be available when the call for help comes, especially from those involved with the criminal justice system. The call for […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Hodgson proposal little more than self-promotion
I WAS DISGUSTED to learn of Bristol County’s Sheriff Thomas Hodgson’s proposal to send prisoners off to work on Trump’s wall. Of course, even if construction on the wall ever […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics, The Download
Hodgson’s off the wall idea
For the most part, Massachusetts is bereft of the cast of local Trump acolytes who have risen up elsewhere to pronounce the incoming president a leader of enormous vision and […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
A Massachusetts freedom agenda
THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION election unleashed forces of racism, sexism, anti-immigrant sentiment, and authoritarianism that, we now know, have been simmering just beneath the surface of the collective American polity. But […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download, Transportation
The Codcast: Talking among ourselves
What do criminal justice reform, the MBTA, and legal marijuana have in common? Other than the fact you can get busted for smoking and selling pot on the Green Line, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Activists interrupt criminal justice meeting
CHANTING “JOBS NOT JAIL,” advocates for criminal justice reform briefly disrupted the final meeting of a state criminal justice policy commission today, part of a growing chorus of voices expressing […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics, State House News Service
Ortiz stepping down early
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE U.S. ATTORNEY Carmen Ortiz, the first woman and first Hispanic to serve as the top federal prosecutor in the district of Massachusetts, will leave her post […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
O’Brien conviction overturned; DeLeo cleared
A US APPEALS COURT overturned the convictions of former state probation commissioner John O’Brien and two top aides, saying prosecutors failed to prove key elements of their case and should […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Back Story
Bishops press Beacon Hill for criminal justice reform
THE STATE’S FOUR Catholic bishops are adding their voices to those calling for the Legislature to take up a comprehensive criminal justice reform bill when lawmakers reconvene for a new […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, State House News Service
Activists fear criminal justice reform will be limited to probation, parole
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ENDING MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES FOR drug offenses will be a top priority next year for criminal justice reform advocates, who said they are worried legislation from Beacon […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Probation fees hit poor the hardest, says report
MONTHLY FEES CHARGED to those on probation in Massachusetts disproportionately hit poorer communities, a costly obstacle to rehabilitation for those least able to afford it, according to a new study. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
Mapping incarceration in Boston
LARGE SWATHS OF mostly minority Boston neighborhoods are so heavily affected by the criminal justice system that nearly every street has a resident who has spent time in jail, a […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
State tracks pot plants with helicopters
MASSACHUSETTS DECRIMINALIZED MARIJUANA in 2008, legalized medical marijuana in 2012, and is about to vote on legalizing recreational marijuana, but that hasn’t stopped the State Police and the National Guard […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Gants launches study of racial disparities in incarceration
THE STATE MUST confront racial disparities in imprisonment rates and move to “reimagine” a flawed criminal justice system to focus less on incarceration and more on lowering recidivism, Supreme Judicial […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Crime and punishment
Nobody thinks teenagers should be carrying guns on the streets of Boston. Jail may be the best—or only—way to deal with many of those carrying and shooting guns there. But was it the right thing to do in this case?
Posted inCriminal Justice
Judge says body camera pilot can move forward
A JUDGE HAS sided with Boston Police Commissioner William Evans and ruled that he has authority to assign officers to a body-worn camera pilot project over the objections of the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Boston police unions overstate case for “long guns”
BOSTON POLICE UNIONS got quite a bit of attention last month when the presidents of three unions cosigned a letter to Mayor Martin Walsh and Police Commissioner William Evans demanding more patrol […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
DeLeo pays Mintz another $100,000
HOUSE SPEAKER ROBERT DELEO’S campaign committee paid $100,000 in legal fees at the end of March to the same Boston law firm that represented him previously in his legal battles […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Healey’s assault weapon directive on target
ONE OF THE main rallying cries of the NRA and the gun lobby is that we don’t need any new gun laws to reduce gun violence. The gun lobbyists assert […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Do police body cameras work?
THERE IS GROWING pressure across the country to equip police officers with body-worn cameras, driven by a belief that the technology will reduce unwarranted use of force by police and […]
Posted inBallot Questions, Criminal Justice, State House News Service
Pot supporters say ballot question about fairness
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AS PROPONENTS GATHERED outside the State House Wednesday to urge support for marijuana legalization and condemn arguments against it as rooted in fear, opponents of a […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
All kids deserve a second chance
“DO YOU BELIEVE in second chances?” That is the most commonly asked question I receive when I speak to students as part of judicial-school outreach. My answer is always the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Education, Opinion
Missed opportunities in Channel 5 forum on race
THE CONVERSATION ON race in Boston hosted by Channel 5 and the Boston Foundation on Thursday offered a tremendous opportunity to confront prejudice and systemic discrimination in Boston. Sadly, people talked around […]
