Latest news with #Governor'sCouncil
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Shorthanded council forces Healey to bail out new rep
BOSTON (SHNS) – It's a good thing for Rep. Hannah Bowen that Gov. Maura Healey had an open schedule Wednesday. Not only was the governor needed to administer the oath of office for the newest member of the House, but she was also pressed into action to chair the Governor's Council so that Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll could cast the decisive vote to make Bowen's election official. Only four of the eight members of the Governor's Council were present for its assembly Wednesday: Councilors Terry Kennedy, Paul DePalo, Tara Jacobs and Mara Dolan. Under the Constitution, five members must be present for the council to act. The assembly was scheduled for 12 p.m., but did not start until 12:30 p.m. The lieutenant governor chairs most meetings of the council, but can sit as a de facto ninth member of the council if the governor presides over the meeting instead. That happened a few times under Gov. Charlie Baker, when Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito's vote was required to break ties among the eight councilors. So shortly after calling Wednesday's delayed council meeting to order and going through introductions, Driscoll announced that Healey would take over the duties of the chair 'to certify votes cast in the May 13 special election, and I will take my seat as a member of the council while she does that.' Healey, whose had no public events on her schedule Wednesday, assumed the council gavel, asked for and got a motion and second to certify the Democrat Bowen as the winner of the special election in the Sixth Essex District, and was then told by Kennedy that the vote should be taken by voice, not by roll call. With Driscoll sitting alongside the four elected councilors present, Healey called the vote and declared 'the ayes have it' before stepping into the next room over to administer the oath of office to Bowen, of Beverly. Taking the oath at 12:38 p.m., Bowen was installed as a rep with enough time to allow her to vote Wednesday afternoon as the House considers a $530 million supplemental spending bill. Bowen fills the House seat left vacant by former Rep. Jerald Parisella, who won reelection in November but was nominated and confirmed to a District Court judgeship before the new term began Jan. 1. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Healey pardons would forgive four for crimes in Massachusetts
BOSTON (SHNS) – Gov. Maura Healey sent four newly proposed pardons to the Governor's Council, recommending official forgiveness for crimes including juvenile delinquency, operating under the influence, and attempted extortion. Final approval rests with the elected Governor's Council, which Healey's office said has already confirmed 21 individual pardons recommended by the Democrat governor. Healey has also pardoned all misdemeanor marijuana possession convictions in Massachusetts. 'The power to pardon is one I've taken seriously throughout my time in office because it makes our criminal justice system fairer and lowers barriers for people to access jobs, housing, education and more,' Healey said in a statement on Wednesday. 'I'm grateful for the hard work and thoughtful guidance of the Advisory Board of Pardons and appreciate the Governor's Council careful review of these recommendations.' Healey said she is recommending a pardon for Joseph Donisi, an Arlington firefighter for the last 17 years. Donisi was adjudicated delinquent in Middlesex Juvenile Court in 1996 on charges stemming from throwing a beer bottle and trespassing at the age of 16. After being sentenced to approximately one year in custody of the Department of Youth Services (suspended for one year) he went on to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps. 'He is seeking a pardon so that he can coach his daughters' youth sports teams. His criminal record prevented him from stepping in to coach the youth team of his best friend's son after that friend passed away,' the governor's office said of Donisi. The governor also proposed a pardon for Paul Cacchiotti, convicted of attempted extortion, larceny over $250, tax evasion and filing false tax returns in 1998. Before his conviction, Cacchiotti had served in the Army National Guard, graduated from Suffolk Law School, had been a judge advocate general and worked as a solo practitioner. He has since been reinstated to the bar and has worked as a self-employed attorney since 2014, the governor's office said. In the case of Frank Albert, Healey is seeking a pardon for an operating under the influence of liquor conviction in 1997. Healey's office said Albert has been employed at a car dealership for 18 years as a salesman, and is a licensed realtor, a notary and a member of his New Hampshire town's zoning board. Healey is also seeking a pardon for Yolanda Rodriguez, who was convicted of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon after being involved in a fight in 1979. She completed her sentence of two years of probation without incident, the governor's office said, but was later convicted of operating under the influence of liquor in 1985 and 1986. The 68-year-old most recently worked at Choi's World Tae Kwon Do in Springfield, but in 2021 'was informed that she could no longer work at Choi's World because of her prior conviction,' Healey's office said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Healey vowed more gubernatorial mercy. Those convicted of murder wait to hear if that means them.
Yet, the first-term Democrat has yet to issue a decision in each of the cases, which landed on her desk anywhere from five to nearly 18 months ago. The board had also recommended a fifth man have his sentence commuted last fall, but he was paroled before Healey acted. Such gubernatorial reprieves have long been uncommon. Healey's five immediate predecessors combined to grant just four, with Charlie Baker, a Republican, Advertisement Commutations typically involve those convicted of some of the most violent crimes — murder, assault, armed robbery — adding a layer of moral and That the recommendations are now stalled with Healey has surprised both petitioners and their attorneys. The former state attorney general has otherwise generously wielded her clemency power like few, if any, governors before her, issuing nearly two dozen pardons, which, in effect, forgive a crime. Her actions raised expectations that she would, too, embrace commutations, which reduce a criminal sentence. Advertisement 'To some extent, they're losing hope,' attorney Patricia DeJuneas said of Florentino, 66, and Fielding, 74, both of whom are her clients and are serving sentences of life without parole. The board recommended them for commutations in August and October, respectively. The 'radio silence,' she said, is what weighs on them. 'I tell my clients: This is a political favor we're asking for. It could be controversial,' she said. 'But right now it's kind of a black hole.' Karissa Hand, a spokesperson for Healey, said last week the governor was still reviewing the four recommendations the Advisory Board of Pardons sent her. Her The board also sent Healey three other so-called unfavorable reports, in which it voted that the person's sentence should not be commuted. Since taking office, Healey has Healey also issued a Advertisement 'She expects to recommend more pardons and commutations in the near future,' Hand, Healey's spokesperson, said. Commutations would be a new front. Healey has yet to issue one, and should she approve all four favorable recommendations before her — and the Governor's Council approves them — it would mark the most issued by a governor in nearly 30 years. (Bill Weld, a Republican who left office in 1997, granted seven commutations.) Those with favorable recommendations before Healey were all convicted of murder, three of first-degree and one of second-degree. But in the years, and sometimes decades, since, they've received degrees, helped mentor others in prison, and committed to rehabilitating themselves, according to the Advisory Board of Pardons' reports. The panel, which also doubles as the state's Parole Board, recommended a mix of remedies, including reducing their sentences to make them eligible for parole. William Florentino, left. In many cases, they were young, troubled men when they committed their crimes, according to the board's reports. Florentino was 20 years old when he participated in a 1977 liquor store robbery in which his partner shot and killed a customer, Edward Stevens. Florentino didn't fire the gun, but was convicted of first-degree murder. He's since become known in prison as 'the peacemaker' and 'wise Will' for his mentorship of others, according to the board, which recommended his sentence be reduced to second-degree murder, either clearing him to be released or to be eligible for parole. Advertisement Fielding, a Vietnam War veteran, was 21 and addicted to heroin in June 1972 when he and another man robbed a liquor store, where Fielding said he panicked and shot Joseph Reppucci. His partner, Joseph Yandle, had his sentence commuted in the mid-1990s by Weld, while Fielding has served the last 42 years without a single disciplinary report. Most of the board recommended his sentence be commuted to time served. A third petitioner, Randy Arias, shot and killed Julio Zuniga outside a Lawrence night club in 2008, and has served the last 16-plus years on a second-degree murder conviction. He also received a consecutive 10- to 12-year sentence on a charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He's since received a GED and bachelor's degree and helped train dogs, and argued that, as a Latino, he wasn't offered the same kind of plea deals that other white inmates received. The board recommended that his consecutive sentence on assault be reduced, giving him an earlier shot at parole. Scott Kirwan, a Navy veteran who was 24 and struggling with substance use when he stabbed and killed Steven Meagher outside a Pembroke bar in 1999, has been awaiting a decision the longest. The board recommended his sentence be commuted to second-degree murder in October 2023 — a day before Healey issued her rewritten guidelines — saying he was 'deeply remorseful' and had 'seriously committed to his rehabilitation.' Though the recommendation has been sitting for more than a year, Healey's office told Kirwan several months ago it was still being considered, said his attorney Robert Griffin. 'The recommendation is there. There isn't much more we can do,' Griffin said. 'He's been the absolute model prisoner. . . . I'm at a loss for what's holding it up.' Advertisement In October, the board also recommended that Artem Vaskanyan, who served decades in prison for his role in a deadly home invasion, receive a commutation. But he won parole a few weeks later, and state officials closed his commutation case in December, according to a letter the board provided. In most cases, the victim's relatives spoke out against the commutations, either to urge the board to uphold their original sentence or express the pain their loved ones' deaths caused. Pamela Meagher, Steven Meagher's sister, told the board her two children remind her of her brother, but that sharing memories of him is 'not the same as having him in their lives.' 'Every time there is another hearing [in Kirwan's case], the heartache and grieving start all over again,' Tom Foley, a family friend of the Meagher's, told the board, according to its report. Other board reports did not detail relatives' exact reservations, and in some cases, redacted their names. The effects of the long wait on a decision from Healey have rippled elsewhere. DeJuneas, Florentino and Fielding's attorney who also helps lead a committee that pairs pro bono attorneys with others seeking clemency, said few lawyers are willing to take on cases for free if 'nothing's happening' with those already in the pipeline. 'Her administration put a lot of effort into this. And yet, she's not moving on these things,' DeJuneas said. 'It doesn't really make sense to me.' Matt Stout can be reached at
