HEROIN KILLED ERIC SINACORI, a 20-year-old University of Massachusetts Amherst student, who was found dead by his parents when they visited from New Jersey in October 2013. A medical examiner […]
criminal justice
Posted inThe Download
The Codcast: The life (and death) stories that drive Andrea Campbell
Andrea Campbell’s twin brother Andre died seven years ago while awaiting trial in the custody of the state Department of Correction, and she says that has everything to do with […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Rollins takes office with reform agenda
RACHAEL ROLLINS, who has broken barriers throughout a two-decade legal career, cracked another one on Wednesday as she became the first woman to serve as Suffolk County district attorney and […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Rollins brings mandate for change – and blunt style – to Suffolk DA’s job
RACHAEL ROLLINS DEFIED expectations when she rolled to a decisive victory this fall in the race for Suffolk County district attorney. She won a five-way Democratic primary, outpacing a field […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
‘I’ve done nothing wrong,’ declares Correia
AN UNSHAVEN JASIEL CORREIA, arrested by FBI agents earlier in the day, was led into a federal courtroom in Boston on Thursday afternoon in leg shackles and handcuffs, dressed in […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
State police sought to destroy Logan pay records
STATE POLICE OFFICIALS tried to destroy 12 boxes of payroll files for detail and roster assignments involving its embattled division at Logan Airport but were blocked because of the ongoing […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
In Middlesex DA’s race, a progressive face-off
DONNA PATALANO, who is challenging incumbent Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan, looks like exactly the right candidate at the right time. The Winchester attorney is pushing a strong reform platform […]
Posted inThe Back Story
US Attorney carries Trump’s message on immigrants
WHEN PRESIDENT TRUMP took office 19 months ago, the US Attorney’s office in Massachusetts started issuing more and more press releases about cases where the defendants were identified by their […]
Posted inOpinion
Study Valor Act before changing it
MASSACHUSETTS IS ON the brink of abandoning one of the most innovative criminal justice initiatives for veterans in the nation. In 2012, after a significant amount of research and debate, […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Involuntary commitment of drug users wrong approach
MASSACHUSETTS IS AIMING to tackle the opioid crisis head on. On Friday, the Joint House and Senate committee dealing with substance abuse is set to move forward on major legislation […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
DA races drawing candidates and attention
Back in December, when the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts launched a voter education campaign targeting the state’s district attorneys, it seemed like a long shot. After all, races […]
Posted inPolitics
Amherst church is now his home
ON THE VERGE of being deported last summer, Lucio Perez took sanctuary in the First Congregational Church in Amherst. He hasn’t left since. Perez is one of three people in […]
Posted inPolitics
State follows voters’ lead on criminal justice
The Senate and House sent a sweeping criminal justice reform bill to Governor Charlie Baker’s desk this week. The Governor has not said how he will proceed. Details matter, and […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Major justice reform bill clears Legislature
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH ONLY A WHIFF of opposition, the Massachusetts Legislature on Wednesday passed a broad package of criminal justice system reforms that have languished for years, signaling a […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, State House News Service
Lelling doesn’t budge on pot stance
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE OPIOID CRIMES ARE HIS TOP drug enforcement priority, but US Attorney Andrew Lelling told reporters Wednesday that his enforcement of federal marijuana laws could ensnare anyone […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
DAs differ on expense approaches
AS A GROUP, the 11 district attorneys in Massachusetts are not big spenders when it comes to dining out or traveling on the state’s dime. But within the group, there […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
US attorney threatens state’s pot industry
US ATTORNEY ANDREW LELLING has sent a chilling response to calls from pro-pot advocates to clarify his stance on marijuana prosecution in Massachusetts, a message sure to send potential investors […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
Confusion reigns in states with legal pot
THE ONE THING that is certain with the change in enforcement of federal marijuana laws is that there will be no uniform approach to enforcement by US attorneys in states […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Sessions turns back pot clock
ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF SESSIONS has thrown the emerging legal marijuana industry into turmoil by rescinding an Obama-era memorandum that ordered the Justice Department to ignore enforcing federal drug laws in […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Debating immigration policy on Beacon Hill
IMMIGRATION REFORM isn’t part of the criminal justice reform bill House members will begin debating today, but Republican lawmakers want it to be. Maybe they’re right and it should be […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Trading gangs and guns for a future
PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK OSTOW HAKEEM JACKSON DOESN’T mince words. “Just a couple of years ago I was shooting at people,” he says. A wiry 20-year-old with an affable bearing, Jackson […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Forensic science commission is needed
LET’S TALK NUMBERS, specifically 23,595. As of June 1, 2017, that was the number of convictions that were vacated as a result of Annie Dookhan’s misconduct at the Hinton Drug […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker opens a legal can of worms
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER filed new legislation last month to battle the opioid crisis. His bill proposes some “important updates” to our arsenal of weapons in this fight, one of which, he […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Warren rips Baker ‘flip-flop’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S new bill targeting drug dealers make him a flip-flopper, according to gubernatorial candidate Setti Warren, who appears to be taking a stance against […]