Category Archives: Prison & the justice system

AFTER MATTIS—CHECK OUT THIS HISTORIC PAROLE HEARING

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Pictured: Alfred Therrien and his attorney John J. Barter in front of the Mass. Parole Board in Natick

Please see and share my newest article on the first Mattis parole hearing after the historic ruling by the Supreme Judicial Court in Mass to stop anyone under age 21 from serving LWOP, i.e. life without parole. HERE. It begins

“On July 16, Alfred Therrien appeared with his attorney John J. Barter before the Parole Board and became the first person in Massachusetts to seek parole as a “Mattis case.”

Commonwealth v Mattis, the monumental ruling rendered by the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) this past January, held that life without parole is now a violation of the Massachusetts constitution for those under the age of 21. The decision underscores the importance of developing-brain science, with the judge finding that, “in terms of impulse control, emerging adults are more similar to sixteen and seventeen-year-old juveniles than to older adults. That is, they are less able to control their impulses in emotionally arousing situations.”

Therrien, who committed his crime between the ages of 18 and 20, was the first to be granted a parole hearing because of this recent ruling. He had previously been sentenced to life without parole (LWOP), also known as ‘the other death penalty.'” MORE

Lawmakers Question Mass Parole Process. Can They Improve the System?

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Please read and share my newest at BINJ. It begins: 

On Oct. 20, the Massachusetts Parole Board, under the leadership of chairperson Tina Hurley, met with state legislators from the Black and Latino Caucus, the Criminal Justice Caucus, and the Justice-Involved Women’s Task Force of the Women’s Caucus. It was the first such meeting, Sen. Jamie Eldridge said at a legislative briefing on parole bills at the State House on Oct. 31. He told BINJ the meeting with the board represented a “greater focus on parole” for legislators.

“I’ve never been so encouraged,” Sen. Liz Miranda echoed during the briefing, adding that she had “tried unsuccessfully for four years to meet with the Parole Board.” In a followup email, Miranda wrote, “Having worked on parole reform for many years, I see momentum building amongst legislators.” MORE

AS MASS RECONSIDERS LWOP FOR 18 TO 20-YR-OLDS, WILL RACE MATTER?

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Please read and share my newest at DIGBoston.  As Massachusetts Reconsiders Life Without Parole for 18 to 20-year-olds, Will Race Matter? begins:

“A potential history-making hearing was held before the seven justices at the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) on Feb. 6, as two linked cases called for an end to mandatory life without parole sentences (LWOP) for “emerging adults,” those who were 18 to 20-years-old at the time of their crime.

These cases spring from Diatchenko v. District Attorney, the historic 2013 Massachusetts ruling in which the SJC ordered that any life-in-prison sentences for juveniles (those under 18 at the time of their crime) without parole possibility were unconstitutional, i.e. constituting cruel or unusual punishment. Following that decision, 66 juveniles became eligible to see the Parole Board.

Ending the sentence of LWOP for emerging adults would impact approximately 200 people currently in the Mass prison system, nearly half of whom have served at least 25 years behind bars. They would be able to petition the Parole Board to serve the remainder of their sentences in the community with supervision.” MORE