In 2018, we enacted reforms designed to reduce incarceration — to lift people instead of locking them up and also to cut the chains that hold them down when they are trying to get back on their feet. Our reforms were also designed to improve public safety. This post collects resources on criminal justice reform in Massachusetts.
Justice
animal welfare, civil law and procedure, criminal law, disability, drug policy, family law, freedom of speech, guardianship, gun violence, housing law, immigration, indigenous agenda, lgbtq rights, policing, privacy, sexual child abuse, terrorism, women's rights
We the People
The Senate may soon vote on the “We the People Resolution.” This resolution is well-intentioned and resonates as positive for many people on first hearing, but it is overbroad and will have unintended consequences..
Juvenile Justice Reform in the Criminal Justice Package
An Act relative to criminal justice reform includes a number of changes to the way our criminal justice system treats young adults and juveniles.
Solitary Confinement in the Criminal Justice Package
There will always be some prisoners who need to remain in segregation, but our legislation, if effectively implemented, should result in fewer admissions and shorter average stays in segregation. Prisoners leaving segregation should also be much better prepared to return to general population or to the street.
Preventing gun suicides
The House and Senate have both now given initial approval to legislation to make it easier to take guns away from people who are a risk of harming themselves or others.
What is net neutrality?
I am really struggling with the issue of “net neutrality”. I would really welcome input from people as to what they think the real problem is.