Gun lobbyists and gun control activists butted heads at a legislative committee public hearing in Worcester but were able to find some common ground over the importance of mental health […]
Criminal Justice
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Naughton should back guns owners insurance
REP. HAROLD NAUGHTON of Clinton, who is hosting hearings around the state on gun control issues with the goal of proposing legislation later this year, is focused on the tail […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
Ambivalent views on spy program
How do Massachusetts residents feel about the government surveillance program capable of gathering information on every phone call and Internet computer click made in the country? Somewhere between ambivalent and […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
Bad chemistry
Three violent crimes in Brockton, including a day-time murder, are being linked to individuals released from prison because of the Annie Dookhan scandal at the state drug lab. Dookhan is […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
Whitey wants a blackout
No matter where you stand on the issue, you have to admit it is a brilliant and calculating ploy by James “Whitey” Bulger, who’s been known to dabble in payback, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, State House News Service, The Download
Drive ‘n text? Staties comin after u
Federal, state, and local public safety officials have long warned about the dangers of distracted driving. Former US transportation secretary Ray LaHood turned the issue into a quasi-personal crusade, and […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Bombs and guns
THE IMAGES AND SOUNDS from the gruesome scene that unfolded along Boylston Street in Boston are now seared in many people’s minds: The explosions, the smoke clouds that suddenly enveloped […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, State House News Service
Investigators charge 3 Tsarnaev friends
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICETHREE CURRENT OR FORMER UMASS-DARTMOUTH CLASSMATES of surviving marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have been charged by federal prosecutors with conspiring to obstruct justice and destroy evidence. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
Gun measure goes down
After false reports of an arrest in the marathon bombing case, yesterday proved to be a hurry-up-and-wait day in Boston. In Washington, however, it was a day of decisive action. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Economy
Court budget falls short, but reaction is muted
THE STATE’S COURT SYSTEM did not get a lot of loving in the House budget. The state’s trial court is asking for what it calls a “maintenance budget” of $589.5 […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
A city shaken
THE FIRST FEELING of déjà vu came with my arrival Tuesday morning at the downtown building that houses the CommonWealth offices. Instead of dashing through the entryway and up four […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Economy, Politics
What happened to Johnny Ramos is criminal
JOHNNY RAMOS SAYs he did “a lot of stupid things” when he was a teenager growing up in Boston’s South End. He says he never used drugs or carried a […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
Corrections reform lagging, report says
Massachusetts may be a leader in such areas as clean energy, health care, and education, but we are a big laggard when it comes to reform of a corrections system […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
Touching moment at Fujita trial
One of the most touching moments in a courtroom occurred on Thursday when Malcolm Astley walked over and embraced the parents of the Wayland High football star who had just […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Download
Lawyers, guns, and money
Four gun measures are slated to be voted on today by the Senate Judiciary Committee and the votes will give some clues as to the fate of tougher gun control […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
Insurers oppose gun liability insurance
TWO GROUPS REPRESENTING most of the companies selling insurance in Massachusetts say they oppose a legislative proposal requiring gun owners to purchase special liability insurance. The two groups, the Property […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Economy, Politics, The Download
Ortiz’s discretionary call
Six months later the Globe selected Ortiz as its Bostonian of the Year. The newspaper’s magazine said Ortiz, Boston’s first female and first Hispanic US attorney, “has sent an unambiguous […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics, The Download, Transportation
The language of guns
When President Obama unveiled his gun reform package yesterday, one month after the Newtown massacre, there was a commonly used phrase that wasn’t uttered by him or Vice President Joe […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics, State House News Service
Gun control pushed by Obama, state officials
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICEGOV. DEVAL PATRICK AND REP. DAVID LINSKY of Natick are pushing gun control measures in Massachusetts, while President Obama unveiled a $500 million package of reforms, calling […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Economy, Politics
Cause development
JOHN ROSENTHAL’S BLACKBERRY lit up. Media requests poured in from NECN, WCVB, and WBUR. MSNBC wanted to talk. Even the Arabic-language network Al Jazeera found its way to his door. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
Police misconduct
Outside the Area C police station in the Fields Corner section of Dorchester. Photo by J. Cappuccio. ON APRIL 22, 2009, CHRISTOPHER KNIGHT and his girlfriend were driving in Boston […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
Casualties of war
One of the defendants affected by Annie Dookhan’s mishandling of drug lab tests seeks a later curfew before Special Magistrate Elizabeth Donovan. IT WAS THE SUMMER OF 2010. Robert Annunziata […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Back Story
More in Mass. packing heat
Over the last four years, the number of Massachusetts residents with so-called Class A licenses that allow them to carry high-capacity weapons has increased almost 27 percent. In Boston, the […]
