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