AFTER FOUR MONTHS of closed-door negotiations, six members of the House and Senate reported out compromise police reform legislation on Monday that establishes a certification system for officers and punts […]
criminal justice
Posted inDrug Addiction
No marijuana ‘apocalypse,’ but legalization brings concerns
Second of two parts. Read the first part here. WHEN MASSACHUSETTS VOTERS were considering the 2016 ballot question to legalize recreational marijuana sales, opponents, including Gov. Charlie Baker, Attorney General Maura […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
17% of prisoners at MCI-Shirley have COVID-19
THE NUMBER of COVID-19 cases at the medium security state prison in Shirley spiked from five just two weeks ago to 142 as of Tuesday, according to the Department of […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker administration crafting home confinement guidelines
WITH COVID-19 infections rising at state prisons, the Department of Correction is preparing to expand testing at the facilities and taking initial steps to release prisoners to home confinement. The […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Death of Fall River boy puts DCF in spotlight again
THESE FACTS ARE clear, according to the police: David Almond, a 14-year-old autistic boy, and his twin brother Michael, also autistic, were horribly neglected in the home where Almond’s father […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Justice Department says Mass. violating prisoners’ rights to mental health care
THE US DEPARTMENT of Justice has concluded in a scathing report that the state Department of Correction is violating its constitutional obligations by failing to provide adequate mental health services to prisoners. The 28-page investigation is […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
DOC ordering second round of universal COVID-19 testing for prisoners
THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION is instituting a second round of system-wide, universal COVID-19 testing following an outbreak of the virus at several of its 16 facilities. The agency has announced […]
Posted inThe Download
Should all life sentences be reviewed?
Two wrongfully convicted black men won big victories this week — one had a murder conviction vacated, and the second will get $3.1 million for serving 38 years behind bars […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Should all life sentences be reviewed?
TWO WRONGFULLY convicted black men won big victories this week — one had a murder conviction vacated, and the second will get $3.1 million for serving 38 years behind bars […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Walsh moves forward with police reform initiatives
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh on Thursday followed through on an earlier promise and signed a pair of executive orders and filed an ordinance with the City Council to create an […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
COVID-19 cases at MCI-Norfolk rise to 172
CONGRESSWOMAN AYANNA Pressley and Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins are urging Gov. Charlie Baker and state correction officials to release inmates at state prisons amid an outbreak of COVID-19 […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Judge rejects pretrial restrictions on Walsh
THE FORMER SUPERINTENDENT and medical director of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home pleaded not guilty Thursday and were released on their own personal recognizance without a series of restrictions sought by […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
COVID-19 cases balloon at MCI-Norfolk
THE NUMBER of COVID-19 cases at MCI-Norfolk rose to 74 on Tuesday, up from 26 on Friday, as the state continued to test all staff and inmates. Facility-wide testing began […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
COVID-19 spike at MCI-Norfolk
THE NUMBER OF PRISONERS testing positive for COVID-19 at MCI-Norfolk rose from 2 to 26 after the Department of Correction ordered facility-wide testing last week. The prison, which houses more […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Prisoners try again for home confinement
ATTORNEYS FOR ILL and civilly committed prisoners are seeking an emergency court order requiring the head of the state’s prison system to implement a home confinement program amid growing COVID-19 […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Shots fired — at cars and the media
GUNFIRE RANG OUT yesterday afternoon in the Back Bay. The casualties? Several cars — and confidence among some in the media’s coverage of gun violence. No one was hit in […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
2 prisoners test positive at MCI-Norfolk
TWO PRISONERS have tested positive for the novel coronavirus at MCI-Norfolk, a medium security prison in Norfolk, Massachusetts. Officials said the inmates tested positive in the past week and were […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Boston police reform panel asked the wrong question
LIKE MANY “blue ribbon” commissions that came before it, the recent Boston police reform panel took its job seriously and approached the important issues it was asked to address with […]
Posted inPolitics
Getting out the prisoner vote
EVEN THOUGH they’re locked up during a pandemic, it’s starting to look like the roughly 6,800 prisoners across the state who are eligible to vote will have a better chance […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Postal inspectors probing mailbox incident involving governor’s council member
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE US POSTAL INSPECTORS are investigating a summertime incident in which a member of the Governor’s Council allegedly fiddled with a piece of mail in a neighbor’s […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Lawsuit over civil commitments targets Hampden sheriff’s program
A LAWSUIT TO end the practice of confining civilly committed men with substance use disorders in prisons has been expanded to directly target a substance use program at the Hampden County House […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Judge allows prisoners to pursue stimulus checks
A RULING by a California judge is allowing those in prison to apply for government stimulus checks, overturning a decision by the Internal Revenue Service that such payments are not […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
US attorney establishes new civil rights task force
US ATTORNEY ANDREW LELLING said Friday that he is establishing a new Civil Rights Task Force to help local and state law enforcement prevent, investigate, and prosecute civil rights violations in Massachusetts. The […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker names Poppe secretary of vet services
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER appointed Cheryl Lussier Poppe as secretary of veterans’ services on Thursday, four months after she began filling the role on an interim basis after Francisco Urena resigned […]
