Saturday, April 13, 2013
Massachusetts is one of 11 states where 17-year-olds are tried and sentenced as adults, but two bills on Beacon Hill seek to change that.
At what age should teenagers be tried as adults when charged with a crime? In Massachusetts, it's anyone 17-years-old or older, but two bills currently on Beacon Hill seek to change that. It's a law that journalists at Patch and elsewhere are well aware of, since we've answered emails and questions from people asking why a 17-year-old arrestee's name had been printed in a police log report. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 119, Section 52 defines only those 16 and younger as juveniles in the state's court system. The makes the Bay State only one of 11 states that doesn't classify 17-year-olds as juveniles. Most states—38, to be exact—don't treat alleged offenders as adults until they've reached 18-years-old. New York and North Carolina …
Thursday, January 10, 2013
New details have emerged in the ongoing Hinton Drug Lab crisis.
While disgraced state lab chemist Annie Dookhan was in court on Wednesday, The Boston Globe unearthed new details in the state drug lab saga including a plea by her husband not to trust her. Surren Dookhan, Annie Dookhan’s husband, sent a text message to George Papachristos, former Norfolk Count assistant district attorney and a noted friend of Annie Dookhan, calling her a liar, according to The Boston Globe. According to the Globe: “This is Annie’s husband, do not believe her, she’s a liar, she’s always lying,” Surren Dookhan texted to the prosecutor, according to an interview Papachristos gave to State Police on Oct. 3, 2012. “She is looking for sympathy and attention.” The Globe also reports that Annie Dookhan was caught removing 90 …
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
A Monday court session appeared to go smoothly as at least 10 drug dealers had their convictions put on hold as a result of the scandal at the State Drug Lab in Jamaica Plain.
An air of normality is settling in to the extraordinary business of setting convicted drug dealers free as Suffolk County courts deal with the fallout from the State Drug Lab scandal. On Monday Suffolk County Superior Court Judge Christine McEvoy heard from convict after convict whose cases may have been tainted by disgraced chemist Annie Dookhan. Through the morning session, about 10 convicts had their sentences "stayed." That means they can provisionally go free provided they meet any bail requirements and aren't serving time for offenses unconnected to Dookhan. She's accused of tainting drug evidence in cases involving up to 34,000 defendants during her nine years as an analyst at the State Drug Lab in Jamaica Plain. On Monday, …
Jay L
1:32 pm on Monday, April 15, 2013
If a 17 year old commits a heinous crime such as murder or rape, they should be locked up for a long, long time just like an adult would. For stupid knucklehead stuff like graffiti or minor drug offenses, common sense should be used so that youthful bad decisions don't ruin the lives of otherwise good kids who have made mistakes. Most kids make mistakes but not everyone gets caught. However, most… more ›