IT HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN that Massachusetts is lacking in its standardization of police training – but there was little urgency on Beacon Hill to do anything about it. Now, the […]
Criminal justice reform
Posted inThe Download
Time for standardized police training in Massachusetts?
It has long been known that Massachusetts is lacking in its standardization of police training – but there was little urgency on Beacon Hill to do anything about it. Now, […]
Posted inUncategorized
News business in George Floyd upheaval
THE NEWS BUSINESS is going through its own George Floyd reckoning, as traditional ways of operating are being challenged and overturned in swift fashion. A week ago, the Philadelphia Inquirer ran […]
Posted inThe Download
News business in George Floyd upheaval
The news business is going through its own George Floyd reckoning, as traditional ways of operating are being challenged and overturned in swift fashion. A week ago, the Philadelphia Inquirer […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Holmes, Idowu outline reform steps
IN THE WAKE OF George Floyd’s death, Rep. Russell Holmes of Boston and Segun Idowu of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts talked on the Codcast about practical steps that can […]
Posted inThe Download
Holmes, Idowu outline reform steps
In the wake of George Floyd’s death, Rep. Russell Holmes of Boston and Segun Idowu of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts talked on the Codcast about practical steps that […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Some police are taking a knee – what does that mean?
ALMOST FOUR YEARS AFTER former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick opted to kneel during the national anthem, police officers across the nation are doing the same, including in Massachusetts. At […]
Posted inThe Download
Some police are taking a knee
Almost four years after former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick opted to kneel during the national anthem, police officers across the nation are doing the same, including in Massachusetts. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Rollins, Boston police union clash
PROTESTS OVER THE police killing of George Floyd have exposed a deep divide in the country on race issues. That schism is now playing out within Boston’s law enforcement community. Suffolk […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Prisoners testify about COVID-19 dangers
AS THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION begins ramping up COVID-19 testing at state prisons, prisoners from three facilities testified before a Superior Court judge about conditions at their institutions. The lawsuit, which […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Ex-Souza prisoner says he was abused
A FORMER PRISONER at the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center who was released on February 14 said on Wednesday that he was subjected to abuse by tactical forces in the wake […]
Posted inOpinion
Corrections data raise big questions
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM rolled through state legislatures with unusual bipartisan support throughout the 2010s. There was rare consensus on what would happen: Rolling back tough-on-crime-era policies that spiked prison populations […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Court: State not liable for assault at DYS facility
A STATE APPEALS COURT agreed to dismiss a case against the state’s Department of Youth Services for an assault that occurred at a now-shuttered facility for youth in state custody, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Judge sides with inmates on attorney access
A SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE issued a preliminary injunction against the state’s Department of Correction on Friday, ordering the agency to seek court approval for any actions limiting prisoner access to […]
Posted inOpinion
Juvenile justice system can, and should, serve older youth
I WAS A JUVENILE COURT JUDGE for 13 years, the Child Advocate for the Commonwealth for seven years, and the head of the Child and Youth Protection Unit in the […]
Posted inThe Download
Corrections union pulls criminal justice law into Souza brawl debate
The union representing prison corrections officers is pointing to the state’s massive criminal justice reform bill, enacted in 2018, as the cause of violence at the state’s maximum security prison, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
DOC launching unit for young inmates who are fathers
THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION is planning to open a special unit for incarcerated fathers between the ages of 18 to 24, with the goal of helping them straighten out their […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Pressley goes ginormous on criminal justice reform
CONGRESSWOMAN AYANNA PRESSLEY released a plan to reform the criminal legal system that she’s calling “bold and progressive,” dubbing it the “People’s Justice Guarantee.” The wide-ranging resolution calls for reducing […]
Posted inThe Download
Pressley goes ginormous on criminal justice reform
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley released a plan to reform the criminal legal system that she’s calling “bold and progressive,” dubbing it the “People’s Justice Guarantee.” The wide-ranging resolution calls for reducing […]
Posted inOpinion
Bump follows lead of DAs
STATE AUDITOR SUZANNE BUMP has joined the debate over the legal status of the advisory sentencing guidelines that the state’s Sentencing Commission issued two years ago. Her audit of the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Bump weighs in on sentencing guideline dispute
STATE AUDITOR SUZANNE BUMP released an audit on Thursday that concluded draft sentencing guidelines are being used by judges across the state even though the guidelines have never been enacted […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. can prevent wrongful convictions like mine
WHAT WOULD A PERSON say to get out of jail? I learned the answer the hard way. Lies told by incentivized informants put me on death row for a murder […]
Posted inOpinion
Promising program helps rehabilitate inmates
CRIMINAL JUSTICE has gotten plenty of air time in the presidential debates, including the most recent one. Policing reforms, sentencing reforms, closure of private prisons, and offender voting rights have […]
Posted inOpinion
Sentencing guidelines raise thorny legal issues for DAs, judges
“WE’RE SAYING to the judiciary: ‘Stay in your lane.’” That’s how Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey summed up the letter he sent in May to Trial Court Chief Justice Paula Carey. […]
