Friday, September 28, 2012
In a live chat on Patch Thursday, Gov. Deval Patrick said he approves of the extraordinary step of allowing release to defense attorneys of State Police interviews with alleged "rogue chemist" Annie Dookhan.
Gov. Deval Patrick took part in a live chat on Patch Thursday. In it, he spoke about the scandal engulfing the State Drug Lab in Jamaica Plain. That's where so-called "rogue chemist" Annie Dookhan is alleged to have tainted the evidence in as many as 34,000 cases. Thousands of drug dealers behind bars could go free (and some have already been released.) Asked by Patch for a progress report on the mammoth task of dealing with the fallout, here's what the governor typed: The criminal investigation is ongoing. Yesterday, in a very unusual move, prosecutors gave defense attorneys all the notes of State Police interviews of witnesses to date, including the notes of the interview of Annie Dookhan, the chemist at the center of this. Given the …
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
After Tuesday, the House and Senate will not have an opportunity to override a veto.
Although the legislative session ends Tuesday at midnight, Gov. Deval Patrick has 10 days to sign any bills that land on his desk. But anything he vetoes cannot be overridden since the Legislature will have adjourned. Perhaps the most-watched bill in this scenario is the mandatory sentencing bill, also called the "three-strikes" law or "Melissa's Bill," over which the governor and Legislature have locked horns. The bill eliminates parole for someone convicted three times of one of 40 or so violent crimes, with at least one conviction having carried a minimum three-year prison term. After languishing for years, the bill received renewed support after Woburn Police Officer Jack Maguire was killed by a paroled, violent repeat offender who…
Monday, July 30, 2012
Chuck Maguire questions Gov. Patrick's amendment to Melissa's Bill.
Although 'Melissa's Bill' won support in both the House and the Senate earlier this month, Gov. Deval Patrick has not signed the bill, which would keep felons with three convictions from receiving parole. Many have questioned the governor's proposed amendment, including Woburn Police Officer Jack Maguire's brother, Chuck. The bill had languished for years, but gained support after Woburn Police Officer Jack Maguire was shot and killed by a longtime felon on Dec. 26, 2010. Officer Maguire was responding to an armed robbery at Kohl's, in the middle of a blizzard, when he exchanged gunfire with the felon on Washington Street. Officer Maguire's brother, Chuck, has testified in favor of the bill, which, he believes, would keep criminals like …
The governor on Saturday sent 'Melissa's Bill' back to the Legislature.
Gov. Deval Patrick set in motion a wave of criticism when he proposed an amendment to the "three strikes"/Melissa's Bill on the grounds that it lacked sufficient provisions for judicial discretion. Warning of possible unintended "unjust consequences" that can arise from mandatory sentencing laws, Patrick wrote in a letter to the Legislature, "None of us is wise or prescient enough to foresee each and every circumstance in which the new habitual offender provisions may apply." On Monday afternoon, the House rejected Patrick's amendment by a vote of 132-23, according to The Boston Globe. The bill's fate is up in the air, as the legislature's summer session will end Tuesday at midnight. The governor has not indicated whether he would veto …
Friday, May 20, 2011
A video roundup of the area's latest developments for Friday, May 20.
Follow the links below for more on today's featured headlines:
dan
7:29 am on Saturday, September 29, 2012
When governor Patrick was United States Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, he would not hold a government official responsible for shooting a 13 year old boy in the back (killing him) denying the child his civil rights. Why would the Governor handle this massive drug-lab-fiasco “systemic failure” any different. Why did Governor Patrick not complain when the tax exempt North Eastern … more ›