Category Archives: justice

New Beginnings Reentry Day Program–A new Chapter!

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Please read and share my newest for Boston Institute of Nonprofit Journalism on Stacey Borden and her newest venture: Struggles In Reentry: A New Chapter For New Beginnings. It begins:

“On Saturday, April 5, Stacey Borden will begin her newest journey to provide educational programs, therapeutic services, and skills for those coming home from prison as well as for other formerly-incarcerated and system-impacted people.

Borden is the founder and, up until recently, was the executive director of New Beginnings Reentry Services (NBRS), which provided a home for women exiting prison. NBRS will transform from an overnight residential program for females into an all-gender day program and Borden will continue on with her vision of repairing harm and healing trauma. According to Borden, the New Beginnings Reentry Day Program will offer “healing spaces, mental health and substance use counseling, art and music therapy, yoga, and computer and financial literacy.”

In an interview with the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism, Borden, not only formerly incarcerated but also an award-winning activist, said, “I wasn’t getting enough funding to hire the right individuals to give the women the programs and services they deserve coming out of prison. Instead of feeling like a failure, I reached out and got help from mentors, and one day, woke up and said, Let me be a day center.”  MORE

MASS PAROLE BOARD NEEDS RESOURCES—NOW!

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Please read an share my latest on the overworked MA Parole Board and the briefing Thursday, March 6, at the MA State House 1-2;30pm that aims to present solutions.

Will The Massachusetts Governor Help The Overburdened Parole Board? 

A State House briefing aims to show why the Parole Board needs more manpower and resources—now. Read about it here from Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. It begins: “A briefing on pending parole legislation and ideas to reform and support an overworked Parole Board will take place this Thursday, March 6, starting at 1pm in room 222 at the Massachusetts State House.”

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