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 […]
Criminal Justice
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 […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Ex-senator Tran sues Healey over criminal charges of stealing a constituent’s gun
FORMER STATE SENATOR Dean Tran, who was indicted earlier this month on charges that he stole a gun from an elderly constituent, filed suit in federal court on Wednesday against […]
Posted inOpinion
Rep. Day and Sen. Eldridge belittle our stories as victims
A “WELL-CRAFTED public relations tour?” For over eight months, more than a dozen survivors have gathered the courage to tell the public how we survived being beaten, threatened, and harassed […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker’s dangerousness bill divides DA candidates
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S effort to bolster the state law allowing defendants to be held before trial has been shelved for now by lawmakers, who call it an unwarranted overreach, but […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker not giving up on dangerousness bill, despite study order
THE WOMAN, who survived domestic violence, said she risked her safety, allowed herself to be vulnerable, and emotionally relived her abuse to advocate on behalf of Gov. Charlie Baker’s bill […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Boston police captain cleared of most charges
A BOSTON POLICE captain who was on paid leave for 2½ years for violating the rules of conduct returned to work earlier this year and then scored a major victory […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Lawmakers pass moratorium on prison expansion
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE IT’S ALMOST TIME for Gov. Charlie Baker to decide exactly what he thinks about a legislative mandate preventing his administration from studying or constructing new correctional […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
A new women’s prison is not the answer
LAST MONTH, three days before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, women in Massachusetts lost another opportunity for bodily autonomy and personal dignity when the Massachusetts Department of Correction […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Wellesley gadfly convicted of extortion
A WELLESLEY RESIDENT with a history of hostility with the town was found guilty of extortion last week for threatening to file criminal charges against two Select Board members if […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice, State Government
Governor’s Council candidate would seek pro-choice, anti-racist judges
IF MARA DOLAN were interviewing a judicial nominee, she would want to know three things: whether the person supports abortion rights, whether they understand substance use disorders, and whether they […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
She recorded her abuser, then she faced charges
THE WOMAN’S HUSBAND pushed her down on her bed and placed a pillow over her face. He threatened her and the couple’s young child, according to court findings granting the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Andrea Campbell wants to cap gun purchases, expand assault weapons ban
DEMOCRATIC ATTORNEY general candidate Andrea Campbell will release her first in-depth policy plan on Thursday – a gun violence prevention plan that includes a mix of enforcement of current laws […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Lawmakers eye expanding juvenile diversion to some violent offenses
IN JANUARY, nearly four years after the idea was first conceived, the state launched its first state-run, state-funded juvenile diversion programs. The idea was to keep teenagers out of detention […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Judge tosses 2 police questions as out of bounds
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE JUST DAYS before the deadline for thousands of law enforcement officers to be recertified, a judge has ruled that two of the eight questions that the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
LeBoeuf loses license 45 days to resolve drunk driving arrest
STATE REP. David LeBoeuf will lose his license for 45 days, pay $1,380 in fees and fines, and enroll in a driver alcohol education program as a consequence of his […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
After three decades behind bars, man released because racism tainted his murder trial
AFTER SPENDING 31 years in prison for murder, Corey Glover walked out of MCI-Norfolk a free man on May 4, after arguing successfully that a juror’s racism prevented him from […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Report backs smaller women’s prison to replace MCI-Framingham
MASSACHUSETTS IS MOVING forward with plans to study replacing the MCI-Framingham women’s prison after a report issued by an independent consultant recommended moving the female inmates to a new facility […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Lawmakers in agreement on prison construction moratorium
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE LEGISLATURE and Gov. Charlie Baker appear headed for another showdown, this time over the next half-decade of facilities management decisions for the state’s prisons and […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Healing families of those killed by gun violence
OUTSIDE OF TRAUMA ROOMS in hospitals around the country, there is a place that those in the medical field call the “quiet room.” According to Dr. Cornelia Griggs and Dr. […]
