Reading about the Massachusetts State Police overtime scandal is like opening a Pandora’s box that can never be shut. This week, out of the box popped a lieutenant who allegedly […]
criminal justice
Posted inCriminal Justice
New system lets survivors track rape kits
MASSACHUSETTS IS ROLLING out a new system that will allow survivors of sexual assault to track online the processing of evidence collected from them at hospitals following an assault. A […]
Posted inThe Download
Rollins shows her mettle
For years, showdowns in the criminal justice system often followed a predictable storyline: A judge used his or her discretion to lean toward the side of compassion for a defendant […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Rollins shows her mettle
FOR YEARS, showdowns in the criminal justice system often followed a predictable storyline: A judge used his or her discretion to lean toward the side of compassion for a defendant […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC voids medical parole regulations
THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT issued a ruling Tuesday that will make it easier for Massachusetts prisoners to request medical parole, which is sometimes called compassionate release. The court held that […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Prepping to move female prisoners at MCI-Framingham
A STATE BOARD looking to convert two rundown prisons in Norfolk and Framingham into facilities that can house female prisoners from MCI-Framingham has narrowed the list of project designers to […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
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, Opinion
In indigent defense case, precedent for strong SJC action
FIFTEEN YEARS AGO, in Lavallee v. Justices in the Hampden Superior Court, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court addressed the shortage of attorneys available to represent indigent criminal defendants in Hampden […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
After Trust Act signing, Gross defensive
ONLY MOMENTS AFTER Boston Mayor Marty Walsh signed the Immigrant Trust Act, Police Commissioner William Gross fended off questions about his department previously sharing information with federal immigration enforcement under […]
Posted inThe Download
DOC backtracking on MCI-Framingham
The Department of Correction appears to be backtracking on the troubled women’s prison at MCI-Framingham. In October, when Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins said MCI-Framingham was closing and then later […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
DOC backtracking on MCI-Framingham
THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION appears to be backtracking on the troubled women’s prison at MCI-Framingham. In October, when Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins said MCI-Framingham was closing and then later amended […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
DAs suspend participation in Mass. Sentencing Commission
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MEMBERS OF THE STATE’S district attorneys association are no longer participating in the Massachusetts Sentencing Commission, a panel the prosecutors say is not complying with state […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC faces tricky constitutional challenge in indigent defense case
THE STATE’S HIGHEST COURT is wrestling with a case centered on how to guarantee a fundamental constitutional right of the judicial system — the right of criminal defendants, even those […]
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
State Police chief retiring
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE After exactly two years leading the 2,100-member Massachusetts State Police force during a time of scandal and turmoil, Col. Kerry Gilpin will retire as superintendent at […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Showdown over shortage of lawyers for poor heading to SJC
ALL DEFENDANTS in criminal cases are constitutionally entitled to legal representation, regardless of their ability to pay for an attorney. But what happens when the office charged with providing lawyers […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Advocates call for reforms to aid inmate voting
AS COMMUNITIES ACROSS the state prepare for municipal elections on Tuesday, one group of would-be voters might be more inclined to cast ballots if the process were simpler. Thousands of […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
When will State Police scandals end?
Another day, another State Police scandal. The most recent incident surfaced when the Boston Herald’s Howie Carr was tipped off that trooper Andrew Patterson allegedly exposed himself while harassing a […]
Posted inThe Download
When will State Police scandals end?
Another day, another State Police scandal The most recent incident surfaced when the Boston Herald’s Howie Carr was tipped off that trooper Andrew Patterson allegedly exposed himself while harassing a couple […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Families want to end prison phone call charges
AYANA AUBOURG MET her father Winchel Aubourg as an infant while he was behind bars for a drug-related crime. For the next 17 years, she spoke with him over the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Suffolk sheriff explains decision to cancel ICE ties
SUFFOLK COUNTY Sheriff Steve Tompkins insists his decision to sever ties with Immigration and Customs Enforcement had nothing to do with protests, and everything to do whether the people in […]
Posted inThe Download
Suffolk sheriff explains decision to cancel ICE ties
Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins insists his decision to sever ties with Immigration and Customs Enforcement had nothing to do with protests, and everything to do whether the people in […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, State House News Service
Senate ethics review of Brady winding up
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE NEARLY FOUR MONTHS after opening an investigation into Brockton Sen. Michael Brady’s drunk driving case, the Senate Ethics Committee is close to issuing its report that […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker administration tying up medical parole program
EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO, Peter Cruz began serving a sentence of life imprisonment for his role as an accessory in the armed robbery and murder of a Holyoke store manager. This past […]
