Before the legislature is the question of how to respond to the case of Commonwealth v. Diatchenko. In that case, our Supreme Judicial Court found that it is unconstitutional to sentence a juvenile to life without parole for first degree murder. The basic question the legislature needs to answer is what should be the first …
Continue reading “Reading the Juvenile Life without Parole Cases”
Kids are kids — emerging research confirms that capacity for self-control doesn’t fully develop until well after the age of 18. That insight, taken to heart, has far-reaching implications for the way we respond to youthful misbehavior. The MacArthur Foundation has funded much of the recent research. The Foundation was troubled by the trend in …
At this stage in our history, we are overusing incarceration as a tool for protecting the public. We tend to focus on the terrible cases where we fail to lock up very dangerous people who go on to commit horrendous crimes. But of equal concern are the thousands of instances in which we lock up …
Senator Brownsberger submitted the following written testimony to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. TO: Committee on the Judiciary FROM: Senator William N. Brownsberger RE: S615, An Act relative to penalties for shoplifting DATE: October 22, 2013 I am writing in support of S625, An Act relative to penalties for shoplifting. I filed this bill …
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Senator Brownsberger submitted the following written testimony to the Joint Committee on Transportation. TO: Joint Committee on Transportation FROM: Senator William N. Brownsberger RE: House Bills 1590 and 3015 DATE: October 18, 2013 I am writing in favor of H1590, An Act relative to appeals, and H3015, An Act to reduce court fees. These …
Senator Brownsberger submitted the following written testimony to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. TO: Committee on the Judiciary FROM: Senator William N. Brownsberger RE: S627, An Act relative to the penalty for vandalism DATE: July 9, 2013 I am writing in support of S627, An Act relative to the penalty for vandalism. This …
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