News
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BREAKING NEWS
Two people were seriously injured and many others terrorized in a shooting today along Memorial Drive in Cambridge. Please see our statement below.
Statement Regarding the Shooting on Memorial Drive on May 21, 2026
The Memorial Drive shooting was terrifying for those caught in the line of fire and for every family waiting to learn whether their loved one was safe. Two people were wounded, drivers and bystanders fled for their lives, and the victims, their families, and the broader Cambridge community deserve answers.
According to public reporting, the alleged perpetrator had a documented history of mental health issues and violence. He showed acute warning signs in the hours before the attack, including suicidal statements, reported drug use, threats of violence, and access to a firearm. These facts demand a serious review of what happened: how risk was assessed; what information was shared among parole, law enforcement personnel, and mental health providers; how firearm access was gained.; and what emergency protocols exist when someone under supervision makes credible threats.
However, the Memorial Drive shooting should not be used to mislead the public about sentencing reform, and Massachusetts should not make policy in a panic. Public safety and sentencing reform are not opposing goals. A smarter system would be able to respond quickly to acute danger while still allowing people who have earned release to come home, rebuild their lives, and succeed under supervision. Massachusetts should fix what failed in this case without turning one tragedy into a blanket rejection of fair individualized review.
“The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for people convicted of felony murder constitute cruel punishment and therefore violate the state constitution,” see Why are people in Mass. being sent to prison for murders they didn’t commit?, Caitlin Glass, Boston Globe, March 11, 2026.
Read more.
Governor Healey Nominates Vincent DeMore to Parole Board and Thomas Trilla as Clerk Magistrate for Northeast Housing Court, MA Press Release, April 15, 2026.
Beacon Hill’s Blindest Spot: Can The Governor’s Council Reverse A Century Of Oversight?, Jean Trounstine, Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism (BINJ), April 14, 2026.
In Massachusetts, survival should not be treated as a crime, Alexandra Bailey, Mass Live, March 30, 2026.
Massachusetts Could Be the Next State to Give Abuse Survivors a Pathway Out of Prison, Victoria Law, BOLTS, January 22, 2026.
Parole In Massachusetts: Ignored, Misunderstood, And Misrepresented, Jean Trounstine, BINJ.News, January 21, 2026
Former Mass. Prisoners Reflect on Freedom After Decades Behind Bars, Laura Crimaldi, Boston Globe, January 11, 2026.
Building Justice 2025 Keynote Speech with Jordan Gomes, Prisoners’ Legal Services Annual Event, December 2, 2025.
Mass. Prison System to Debut Wellness Hotline for Incarcerated in Light of Recent Suicides, Hadley Barndollar, MassLive, November 26, 2025.
On bail policy, Massachusetts must catch up, Kathy Naples-Mitchell, CommonWealth Beacon, November 22, 2025
Man [Ricky "Fuquan" McGee] Was Released from Prison After 28 Years While Judge Considers Innocence Plea, Liz Neisloss, GBH News, October 14, 2025.
America’s Aging Prison Population Is Posing Challenges for States, Amanda Hernández, Stateline, September 29, 2025.
As Elections Near, Prisoners and Advocates Push for Voting Rights Behind Bars, Paul Singer, GBH, Sept. 5, 2025.
Prisoner-run Survey Suggests State-paid Attorneys Provided Inadequate Defense, Paul Singer, GBH News, August 6, 2025.
Case Dismissals Likely As Bar Advocate Pay Negotiations At Standstill, Brian Zayatz, The Shoestring: Independent News for Western Mass, July 26, 2025.
Lois Ahrens, Founder and Director of the Real Cost of Prisons Project, discusses the Governor’s $360 million project for the Framingham prison for women on WHMP radio on August 4, 2025,. See also, Ahern’s article: Healey’s secretive $360 million to ‘re-imagine’ Framingham prison for women in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, July 23, 2025.
Edward Wright has been freed from prison. The New England Innocence Project announced that on July 31, 2025, its client, Edward Wright, has been freed from prison after being wrongfully incarcerated for more than 41 years for a Springfield murder he did not commit. This decision was based on findings of police and prosecutorial misconduct; however Edward Wright’s fight for exonoration is not yet over, as the Commonwealth may still decide to retry the case.
The Battle Over the Newest Member of the Massachusetts Parole Board, Jean Trounstine, HorizonMass, July 31, 2025.
More Freedom, Less Violence: Some States Look to European Prisons, Shaila Dewan, New York Times, July 26, 2025.
Case dismissals likely as bar advocate pay negotiations at standstill, Brian Zayatz, The Shoestring, July 25, 2025.
Free Calls in Massachusetts Lead to Defunded Prison Programs, Prison Legal News, July, 2025, page 10.
Joint Committee on the Judiciary, Hearing #6: Sex Offenses and Domestic Violence, Chaired by Chairwoman Edwards, Hearing Details, June 17, 2025. Cynthia Goldberg, Community Organizer for CELWOP, testified at this hearing.
Joint Committee on the Judiciary, Criminal and Court Procedure Hearing Details, June 3, 2025. Testimony was heard on an Act to end Mass Incarceration H2052 S1178. See, for example: testimony from Prisoners’ Legal Services, League of Women Voters of MA, and Lois Ahrens, Director of the Real Cost of Prisons Project. (Note that Massachusetts has the highest percentage of people serving life without the possibility of parole in the United States.)
Edward Wright’s 1985 Springfield murder conviction has been overturned based on official misconduct, Including withheld evidence and false testimony. Read the decision. Read more about the case. See the video of the press conference held by the New England Innocence Project for more details and for the next steps to secure Mr. Wright’s release from prison.
Fighting for the Rights of Incarcerated People, March 18-19, 2025. Emerson Prison Initiative (EPI) Conference on College in Prison, at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, featuring panelists Lizz Matos, Calvin Arey, and Michael Millemann.
WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS
A Boston man spent decades behind bars for a murder he didn't commit; now he's helping others. WBZ/CBS Boston, February 27, 2025.
After having served almost 41 years of life without parole, all charges were dismissed against James Watson in 2020. Three years earlier, after serving 38 years, Watson’s co-defendant Frederick Clay was exonerated as well.
Will The Massachusetts Governor Help The Overburdened Parole Board?, Jean Trounstine, HorizonMass, March 5, 2025.
A Second Chance: A Federal Judge Decides Who Deserves It, Judge Frederic Block, The New Press, 2024. A sitting federal judge makes the case for revisiting overly punitive sentences.
