MA: Doe v. Sex Offender Registry Board
The Supreme Judicial Court vacated and set aside a superior court judgment affirming a Sex Offender Registry Board (SORB) decision to classify John Doe as a level two sex offender,…
MA: Baker to refile bill on sexual predators
[eagletribune.com - 5/20/19] Gov. Charlie Baker will ask lawmakers once again to limit the release of sexual predators from prison. The move follows last week's ruling by the state's highest…
MA: State’s Highest Court Orders Release Of Sex Offender Held Since 1970s
Massachusetts' highest court ruled Thursday that a 71-year-old convicted sex offender held for more than 40 years as a sexually dangerous person can be released, after two mental health professionals…
MA: Harvard professor loses post for defending an unpopular client
[theappeal.org - 5/14/19] As soon as it was revealed earlier this year that a house faculty dean at Harvard University, Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., had decided to join the legal…
Janice’s Journal: Flowers of Justice are Blooming
Spring has begun and the flowers of justice are blooming. One of these flowers, which is especially beautiful and fragrant, is a decision issued today by the Massachusetts Supreme Court…
MA: Mandatory GPS monitoring of some sex offenders violates privacy rights
Convicted sex offenders retain a constitutional right to privacy, and those rights are being violated by a state law mandating that everyone convicted of some sex crimes wear a GPS…
MA: More Than A Quarter Of Boston’s Registered Sex Offenders Are Homeless
The purpose of the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry is to keep track of where dangerous sex offenders are, but what if they have no address? That’s the case with ____…
Should we show compassion?
The story of a couple who were found dead inside of a tent at a homeless encampment has led to questions in the community: What rights does a twice-convicted sex…
MA: Sex offenders have access to kids on Halloween
[bostonherald.com - 10/7/18] Sex offenders are forbidden under state law from driving an ice cream truck, but they can hand out all the candy they want on Halloween in what…
MA: The Case for Dismantling the Sex Offender Registry with Dr. Emily Horowitz [presentation]
[sopri-ma.org - 10/25/18] with Dr. Emily Horowitz, author of Protecting Our Kids? How Sex Offender Laws are Failing Us Thursday, October 25 @ 7pm Cambridge Friends Center, 5 Longfellow Park…
MA: Court Recognizes Harm to Registrants, Rules in Their Favor
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Council, the state's supreme court, has ruled in favor of registrants who were trying either to terminate their duty to register or to change the tier…
MA: Court: Board needs proof in sex offender reclassification
[thesunchronicle.com - 8/1/18] BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board has the burden of proof when determining whether a sex offender should not be moved to a less…
MA: Board wants Cosby deemed a sexually violent predator
[bostonherald.com - 7/25/18] Disgraced comic icon Bill Cosby will have to register as a sex offender in Massachusetts if he returns to his sprawling Shelburne Falls estate — and state…
MA: Changing sex offender law needs to be evidence-based
Massachusetts is hardly soft on sex offenders, being one of only 20 states and the District of Columbia that incarcerate people convicted of sex offenses after they’ve completed their criminal…
MA: Child Rapist Bill Triggers Debate Over Punishment, Process
[wbur.org - 6/27/18] Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito appealed to lawmakers Tuesday for new sentencing and civil commitment laws targeting repeat child rapists, but opponents of Gov. Charlie Baker's bill argued…
MA: Psychologist said serial rapist was not dangerous
[eagletribune.com - 6/13/18] A psychologist who has spoken on behalf of child rapist Wayne Chapman was also hired as an expert in a 2012 case involving the potential release of…
MA: Can there be life after civil commitment?
[narsol.org - 6/15/18] By Sandy . . . Over forty years ago, Wayne Chapman was convicted of raping two boys. He claimed to have had as many as a hundred…
MA: Victims’ advocate wants psychologists charged if sex offenders repeat
[bostonherald.com 6/3/18] A leading victims advocate wants state-appointed psychologists who declare sex offenders can be released from prison held accountable if the predators strike again. Jennifer Lane, president of Community…