BOSTON MAYOR MARTIN WALSH and Police Commissioner William Gross said on Tuesday they intend to implement all of the recommendations of a police reform task force, including the creation of […]
criminal justice
Posted inOpinion
Police chief tells doctor to stay in her lane
IN AN OPINION piece published in Commonwealth on Sunday, Dr. Jeanette Callahan posed the question: “I’m a doctor and I don’t have qualified immunity; Why should police?” As a retired […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Medical parole for prisoners doesn’t mean immediate release
RAYMOND VINNIE, serving a life sentence for murder but incapacitated by colon cancer and a stroke, was granted medical parole from MCI-Norfolk. But weeks passed, and Vinnie was not released. […]
Posted inOpinion
I don’t have qualified immunity; Why should police?
IN JULY, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed their version of a police reform bill that has languished in a conference committee ever since, reportedly because of a deadlock over […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
COVID-19 outbreak at Plymouth substance abuse center
THE STATE PRISON system is seeing a hotspot of COVID-19 among those civilly committed at the Massachusetts Alcohol and Substance Abuse Center in Plymouth. The Department of Correction said on […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Rollins’s ‘Brady List’ not factoring in Boston police reform report
MEMBERS OF A TASK FORCE charged with recommending reforms for the Boston Police Department say that a list of names of law enforcement officers accused or found guilty of misconduct will not factor in their […]
Posted inOpinion
We need truth and reconciliation
MASSACHUSETTS IS NOT IMMUNE from the pandemic of systemic racism. Recent reports document that racial and ethnic disparities persist at every level of our juvenile and criminal systems. In November […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
136 police officers on Suffolk County Brady list
SUFFOLK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY Rachael Rollins released a prosecutorial watch list Friday night with the names of 136 law enforcement officials who have been indicted or charged on federal offenses or been accused of […]
Posted inThe Download
Kraft will not be tried for soliciting prostitution
Florida prosecutors on Thursday announced they were dropping misdemeanor charges against Kraft for soliciting prostitution, after a court ruled that the video evidence against him could not be used. The […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Kraft will not be tried for soliciting prostitution
FLORIDA PROSECUTORS on Thursday announced they were dropping misdemeanor charges against Kraft for soliciting prostitution, after a court ruled that the video evidence against him could not be used. The […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
History suggests SJC rulings will improve policing
IF HISTORY IS a guide, three unanimous Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rulings on race and police practices issued last week will make policing more effective and more just. In one, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Bill would bar state, county law officers at polls
RESPONDING TO RECENT comments by President Trump, Reps. Antonio Cabral of New Bedford and William Straus of Mattapoisett have filed legislation that would bar state and county law enforcement officials […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Bar oversight agency considers misconduct by attorneys in lab scandal case
THE STATE Board of Bar Overseers on Monday began a two-week hearing to decide whether to recommend disciplinary action against three attorneys who worked for former attorney general Martha Coakley, who are accused […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
While BPD investigates, employees collect $2.5m
THE BOSTON POLICE Department has paid out $2.5 million in salary and benefits to the 18 employees who are currently on administrative leave while the agency investigates alleged wrongdoing by […]
Posted inOpinion
Police need to be removed from our schools
THE MURDER of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer reflects a broader, deep-seated racism that infiltrates all levels of our society, including our schools. The racist […]
Posted inThe Download
SJC lobbies lawmakers on police reform
As conference committee members negotiate a final version of a police reform bill, the committee’s senators just got a powerful ally: The Supreme Judicial Court. The SJC on Thursday, in […]
Posted inRace/Racism
SJC lobbies lawmakers on police reform
AS CONFERENCE COMMITTEE members negotiate a final version of a police reform bill, the committee’s senators just got a powerful ally: The Supreme Judicial Court. The SJC on Thursday, in […]
Posted inEducation
Districts coming up short on reporting school-based arrests
A NUMBER of Massachusetts school districts are failing to adhere to data collection measures required by the 2018 Criminal Justice Reform Act, with some reporting no school-based arrests when their […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Grappling with ‘driving while black,’ SJC offers help
THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT on Thursday issued a ruling that will make it easier for defendants to prove they are the victim of illegal racial profiling when pulled over during […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Revised medical parole rules draw fire
A SECOND ATTEMPT by the Department of Correction to develop medical parole regulations is running into blowback from lawmakers and advocates who say the Baker administration is continuing to block […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC Chief Justice Ralph Gants dies
ONLY 10 DAYS after being hospitalized with a heart attack, Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph Gants spent Monday morning on the phone from his home talking to attorneys and advocates about the state’s eviction moratorium and pending eviction […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker looks to leverage bail controversy
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM supporters have been pushing to draw attention to the role played by bail in the legal system. Whether this will end up being a case of “be […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Study spotlights racial disparities in state criminal justice system
A NEW REPORT prompted by the huge overrepresentation of blacks and Latinos in Massachusetts prisons zeroes in on disparities at various stages of the court system’s handling of cases that […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Appeals court reverses ban on ICE courthouse arrests
A FEDERAL APPEALS COURT has lifted a ban that kept immigration authorities from civilly detaining immigrants in and around Massachusetts courthouses. The First Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday vacated […]
