MA releases 39 convicts sentenced to life without parole

Saturday, December 27, 2025

The state's parole board has released 39 "emerging adult" murder convicts who were originally sentenced to life without parole, but who later became eligible after a court ruling. The Massachusetts Parole Board has issued 51 parole decisions since the Supreme Judicial Court last year ruled that emerging adults who were 18 to 20 at the time of the offense cannot be sentenced to life without parole.

Posted by oneironaut at 11:27 AM | 7 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent.

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---- off imbecile.

#1 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2025-12-27 12:03 PM | Reply

Is OneIronNut pissed they didn't get proper pardons by paying Trump a bribe?

#2 | Posted by Sycophant at 2025-12-27 07:48 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

This is all but guaranteed to bite them in the a&&.

#3 | Posted by jpw at 2025-12-28 12:03 AM | Reply

From the cited article...

... Last January, the Supreme Judicial Court's decision in Commonwealth v. Mattis made it unconstitutional to sentence emerging adults to life without parole -- making more than 200 people eligible for parole consideration. ...

imo, that is what need to be discussed.

i.e., should "emerging adults" [18-20 at the time of conviction] be sentenced to life imprisonment without any possibility of parole?

#4 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-12-28 12:16 AM | Reply

"making more than 200 people eligible for parole consideration."

So they are being considered for parole? Not "released"?

Can parole not be denied, depending on circumstances? I see one that was released was 20 when he did the crime and is now 78.

#5 | Posted by REDIAL at 2025-12-28 12:28 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

@#5 ...So they are being considered for parole? Not "released"? ...

Looks that way.

From the cited article ...

... The board OK'd the release of 39 convicted first-degree murderers " and those guilty of accessory to murder -- while denying parole to 12 inmates, according to state data. That's a 76% release rate for this group so far ...

#6 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-12-28 01:00 AM | Reply

Looks that way.

So basically their sentence was changed from "life without the possibility of parole", to "life with the possibility of parole"?

Is that an outrageous outcome when the initial sentence was determined to be unconstitutional?

#7 | Posted by REDIAL at 2025-12-28 01:14 AM | Reply