THE ADVOCACY GROUP Black and Pink Massachusetts was formed to fight on behalf of some of the most marginalized and powerless people in society – gay, lesbian, and transgender people […]
Criminal Justice
Posted inCriminal Justice, State Government
Baker issues four more pardons
AS HE PREPARES to leave office, Gov. Charlie Baker is rolling out the pardon pen. On Wednesday, Baker pardoned four people for decades-old offenses, two weeks after he issued four […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker pardons four men for decades-old offenses
AS HE CLOSES in on the end of his final term, Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday issued the first pardons of his nearly 8 years in office, wiping away criminal […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Has Boston become complacent about gun violence?
IT WAS BARELY 24 hours after a 14-year-old boy was gunned down at midday on a Roxbury street that the Boston City Council’s public safety committee convened a scheduled hearing […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Advocates say Baker trying to gut prison mental health law
THE MASSACHUSETTS prison system has long faced criticism for its inability to provide adequate mental health treatment to incarcerated people. A mental health bill that Gov. Charlie Baker signed into […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Corrections officials hear concerns about mail policy
Boston University Statehouse Program LEGAL ADVOCATES and family members of the incarcerated pushed for restoration of mail privileges at a Department of Correction hearing on Wednesday, saying the decision to […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Innovative court program helps people navigate addiction services
CAPE COD DEFENSE attorney Susan Wenzel had a client with mental health and substance use issues who needed help handling both problems and had no health insurance. His criminal case […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC to referee another medical parole dispute
SINCE THE LEGISLATURE established medical parole in 2018, prisoners’ rights advocates and Department of Correction officials have been in a near-constant fight about how the law is being implemented. Advocates […]
Posted inPolitics
Hayden wins Suffolk DA race in tough night for reformers
SUFFOLK COUNTY’S interim District Attorney Kevin Hayden fended off a strong challenge from Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo in Tuesday’s acrimony-filled Democratic primary for district attorney, in a tough night […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Records call sexual assault claim against Arroyo ‘unfounded’
IN THE LATEST chapter in the bare-knuckle brawl that the Suffolk County district attorney’s race has become, Democratic challenger Ricardo Arroyo claimed newly released records cleared him of sexual assault, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Media, Politics
Endorsements taking center stage in race for DA, attorney general
WHAT’S THE VALUE of an endorsement? That question is getting tested in races up and down the primary ballot as candidates jockey for advantage leading up the September 6 vote. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
What’s the truth on Arroyo in Suffolk DA’s race? Does it matter?
AMID A GENERALLY sleepy primary election campaign season, the contest for Suffolk County district attorney stands out. The race has been rocked by an explosive report in the Boston Globe […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
Arroyo pushes back on sexual assault allegations
THE SUFFOLK DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S race is quickly turning into a low-level mash-up of “The West Wing” and “House of Cards,” complete with competing accusations of campaign skullduggery and sudden reversals […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Housing
A new home for recently incarcerated transgender people
THE APARTMENT LOOKS like so many other Cambridge dwellings, occupying one floor of a slightly worn two-family house. It has two bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen, living room, and small […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Quentin Palfrey platform is wish-list of progressive policies
FORMER SUFFOLK DISTRICT ATTORNEY Rachael Rollins, now the US attorney for Massachusetts, made headlines for her pledge not to prosecute certain non-violent offenses. Now, Quentin Palfrey, a Democrat running for […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
New public data sheds light on prison population decline
THE NUMBER OF people incarcerated in Massachusetts has dropped significantly over the last five years, from more than 17,000 in 2017 to 11,200 this year. That’s just one a many […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker signs bill bringing equity to cannabis industry
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Thursday signed a bill aimed at giving minority cannabis entrepreneurs easier access into the industry, and also paving the way for municipalities to allow marijuana cafes. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
AG candidates fight over fundraising, credentials
IN AN HOUR-LONG DEBATE on Wednesday, the three Democrats running for attorney general issued sharp barbs over each other’s credentials and fundraising but largely agreed on many of the substantive […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Tompkins challenger says he shouldn’t moderate DA debate
IT’S AN UNUSUAL setting for a candidate forum, but one with an audience that has a vested interest in the policies of the office being sought. The two candidates vying […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker vetoes prison moratorium
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Thursday vetoed a five-year moratorium on new prison construction, citing concerns that it would constrain the state from moving forward with several planned prison improvement projects. […]
Posted inPolitics
In AG debate, Dems play their hands
SHANNON LISS-RIORDAN is the only practicing lawyer who has won settlements for working people. Andrea Campbell brings a “lived experience” to the issues that her rivals don’t and now has […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Senate resurrects dangerousness bill in after-midnight vote
BANISHED TO the Legislature’s study scrap heap and crushed by a vote in the House on Saturday, a proposal to expand the offenses for which a defendant can be declared […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC rules consent required for blood alcohol test
THE POLICE CANNOT test a person’s blood to determine blood alcohol content without that person’s consent, even if the person authorized the blood draw itself, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker won’t sign no-cost prison calls without dangerousness bill
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER is making another go at passing elements of his criminal dangerousness bill, this time with a bit of high-stakes legislative horse trading. Baker, in signing the fiscal […]
