Governor's Council Archives

Why Is The Parole Board On The Governor’s Back Burner?

Prisoner rights advocates say outgoing Massachusetts Parole Board Chair Tina Hurley was dedicated and effective. So why is she leaving and who will replace her?

JEAN TROUNSTINE May 22, 2025

A New Governor’s Council Already Made History; But Will It Bring Change To Massachusetts?

Influential body welcomes first members of color in 30-plus years, plus vets groundbreaking transgender judicial nominee

JEAN TROUNSTINE January 13, 2025

GOVERNING IN DARKNESS: Part 3

Who are the Massachusetts governor’s councilors? What professional baggage do they bring to the body? And can this motley crew stumble toward reform?

JEAN TROUNSTINE August 29, 2024

GOVERNING IN DARKNESS: Part 2

With its hollow rules, ethical dilemmas, and reluctance to address a lack of transparency and other problems, the Governor’s Council has no clothes

JEAN TROUNSTINE August 14, 2024

RESEARCHING THE MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR’S COUNCIL

New series by Jean Trounstine includes original data set on Massachusetts judicial appointments culled from hundreds of paper files

BINJ ONLINE July 26, 2024

GOVERNING IN DARKNESS: Part 1

For centuries, critics have questioned whether the Governor’s Council, rife with conflict, should exist. In 2024, is the body obsolete?

JEAN TROUNSTINE July 25, 2024

DOES A NEW GOVERNOR SIGNAL A NEW DIRECTION FOR THE MASS PAROLE BOARD?

“I know that if Sarah Coughlin is appointed to the Parole Board, she will be the people’s Parole Board member.”

JEAN TROUNSTINE September 18, 2023

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: CHERYL AMIRAULT LEFAVE

“Everything that I came across for 40 years has been a battle.” It seemed that last week a decades-old controversial case was headed for a pardon vote. Outgoing Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker had recommended a pardon for Cheryl Amirault LeFave and her brother, Gerald, in the well-known and highly disputed

JEAN TROUNSTINE December 22, 2022

JUDGMENT ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK

Photo of Gloriann Moroney at Governor’s Council, Oct. 12, 2022 by Lisa Berland, Parole Watch Parole Board Chair Gloriann Moroney’s contentious hearing to become a judge Another Parole Board chair with a prosecutorial background is vying to be a judge. This time, it’s Gloriann Moroney, whose hearing before the Governor’s

JEAN TROUNSTINE October 17, 2022

“POLARIZING FORCE”

Governor’s Council weighs controversial Parole Board renomination “You have an unbelievable amount of people who are against you.” Governor’s Councilor Christopher Iannella, a personal injury attorney, was grilling Massachusetts Parole Board member Colette Santa on August 3. Santa, first nominated by Gov. Charlie Baker for the board in 2017, is

JEAN TROUNSTINE August 8, 2022