For the second time this month, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Judicial Court to overturn a lower court ruling which reduced bail to personal recognizance for an individual accused of violent crimes, the most recent case involving someone accused of shooting a deputy sheriff in an attempted escape from custody.
Read MoreEarlier this morning Judge Jonathan Tynes held defendant ANTHONY KELLEY without bail at an arraignment in the Dorchester Division of Boston Municipal Court for yesterday's homicide of 17 year old Alissa King.
Our condolences go to the family of Ms. King.
Read MoreDefendant Charged with Murder While on Pre-Trial Release with GPS for Firearms Charge
Late yesterday Suffolk County District Attorney petitioned a single justice of the Supreme Judicial Court to return William Utley to jail pending his murder trial because he poses a “grave risk to public safety.’’
Read MoreThis decision is a living, breathing ever-evolving document. The Special Master is still very active. Sheriffs must provide daily census reports for each correctional facility and the DOC must provide daily reports of inmate counts and rates of COVID-19 cases at each facility. Those daily reports are reviewed by the Special Master and provided on a weekly basis to the SJC ‘so that the court will be better positioned to respond to further changes in this rapidly-evolving situation.’ This is just the beginning.
Read MoreIn this time of deep uncertainty and growing fear, we need bold, decisive leadership. I appreciate the tremendous amount of work by the SJC and the Special Master to help to create a framework for our Commonwealth to reduce its prison, jail and detention facility population in the interest of public health by facilitating the coordinated and expedited release of certain detainees who are at high risk of contracting COVID-19. To do this, all while balancing the important rights and needs of victims and survivors and the safety of our communities, is a significant task.
Read MoreDear Friends,
I hope this letter finds you well, physically and emotionally, as you adjust to the reality of living through the COVID-19 public health crisis. This is an exceptionally challenging time for all of us, as we figure out how to maintain our livelihoods, school and care for our children, support our loved ones close by and from afar, and manage our own health vulnerabilities or fears.
Read MoreIn these uncertain times, where the landscape is changing minute by minute, District Attorney Rollins is working to make sure that individuals held in custody who are vulnerable because of their health, age, socio-economic status, or circumstances, but pose no meaningful risk to public safety are released from custody. There will be circumstances where the risk to public safety outweighs any justification for release. However, we are committed to working with the criminal defense bar in identifying those individuals whose release we deem urgent and necessary for public health reasons.
Read MoreProposals promote public safety, best practices for CJ response to COVID-19
District Attorney Rachael Rollins today announced immediate actions her Office will take to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 among employees and those members of our community that come in contact with the courts and criminal justice system in Suffolk County.
Read MoreCharges stem from unprovoked violence in Maverick Square
Felony charges issued yesterday against two Revere women for their alleged unprovoked attacks on a mother and her daughter who were speaking Spanish in East Boston’s Maverick Square.
Read MoreLos cargos provienen de un acto de violencia sin provocación en Maverick Square
Cargos por delitos graves fueron emitidos ayer contra dos mujeres de Revere por un supuesto ataque sin provocación contra una madre y su hija que estaban hablando español en Maverick Square de East Boston.
Read MoreDeploying militarized units into neighborhoods creates even greater fear and disorder and significantly harms relationships that local law enforcement agencies and public officials have worked so hard to build and foster. Don’t be fooled. None of this makes us safer. This is being done to strike fear and terror throughout our immigrant communities. This is being done to be cruel and to silence and terrorize people.
Read MoreDistrict Attorney Rachael Rollins will join Fred Clay, who was wrongfully convicted of murder in Suffolk County and later freed after serving 38 years in prison, for a public screening tomorrow of the film “Just Mercy” and a discussion on criminal justice.
Read MoreSuffolk Superior Court Judge Rosalind Miller today sentenced IMER SOTO, 33, of Dorchester, to nine to 10 years in state prison for rape and three years of probation for kidnapping as well as completing sex offender treatment registering as a sex offender, District Attorney Rachael Rollins announced today. SOTO was found guilty Feb. 5 of rape and kidnapping when he pulled a woman who had ordered a ride-share vehicle into the car he was riding in and raped her.
Read MoreA man found guilty of planting and detonating an improvised explosive device next to a Boston Police cruiser parked on a busy South Boston bridge was sentencing yesterday to 15 to 18 years in state prison and five years of probation to follow, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins announced.
Read MoreA single justice of the state’s highest court today issued a ruling supporting justice, equity, and rehabilitation. Mr. Osman Bilal, a man who paid his debt to society on a misdemeanor offense nearly a decade ago, will now have that conviction vacated, helping pave the way for him to renew his legal residency in the United States.
Read MoreOsman Bilal’s case exposes one of the biggest problems with our criminal justice system: it chooses finality over justice. I ran for office and was elected to change that. And I have. Since taking the oath as District Attorney, I have required that my staff investigate, review and resolve each case with justice in mind. I also asked that they remedy outcomes that are inconsistent with this mission, that they take positions that are not those of “least resistance” and do so with equity as their guidepost.
Read More“The Boston Police Officers who responded Friday night in Brighton are heroes. I am thankful for them and for the person who called police. We need to care more about each other.
“Every suicide impacts far more people than just the individual that took their own life. Family members, loved ones, first responders, witnesses, and sometimes even strangers that learn of the incident and somehow connect with the person or the pain. Depression, emotional wounds, mental illness and trauma are all very real.
Read MoreA former Nashua Street Jail inmate was sentenced yesterday for his role in a brutal attack on a Corrections Officer just over a year ago, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins’ office announced. GIOVANNI BUCHANAN, 25, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Robert Tochka to six to seven years for attacking a Corrections Officer on Jan. 10, 2019 with another inmate, CARLOS CARRASQUILLO.
Read MoreAt the conclusion of a trial in the West Roxbury Division of the Boston Municipal Court, DAVID SANCHEZ, 39, was found guilty of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 and assault and battery in connection with an assault that occurred January 14, 2018. The defendant faces sentencing on January 24, 2020.
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