prisons Archives

MORALE VIOLATION

Whistle-blowers report culture of “retaliation” and “nepotism” at Mass parole agency Over the past three months, seven staff members from the Massachusetts Parole Board have come to this reporter with harsh critiques of the agency. They are quoted throughout this article. The Commonwealth has a seven-member Parole Board that decides

JEAN TROUNSTINE May 23, 2022

GOVERNOR’S COUNCIL SIGNALS LANDMARK COMMUTATION LOOMS

Tom Koonce (left) and his son, Thomas Andrews, circa 2018, taken at MCI Norfolk “You had one really horrible day and you paid dearly but I think you paid enough.” On Jan. 26, 54-year-old prisoner Thomas Koonce, a former US Marine who was born in Brockton, spent nine-and-a-half hours at

JEAN TROUNSTINE January 27, 2022

THE MASS PAROLE BOARD HAS A TRANSPARENCY PROBLEM

From secret hiring practices to a revolving door of political appointees, the Mass Parole Board is a “black hole,” and “lives are at risk.” In the spring of 2021, Ms. Smith, whose name has been changed for this article, heard from a friend that there was a vacancy on the

JEAN TROUNSTINE December 20, 2021