Pardons

All seven pardons Gov. Maura Healey recommended won approval from the Governor’s Council on Wednesday, cementing the first pardons awarded by a Massachusetts governor during their first elected year in office in three decades. Healey in June proposed the pardons, which had earned the support of the Parole Board before Gov. Charlie Baker left office in January, when she...

Gov. Maura Healey is recommending seven people be pardoned, including a Boston firefighter convicted over drugs more than 30 years ago and a retiree whose 1966 conviction of arson is preventing him from working as a nurse. All seven received unanimous recommendations for pardons from the state’s Parole Board. It’s the earliest a Massachusetts governor has recommended pardons in over…

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday recommended his second batch of pardons in two weeks, including forgiveness for three people for decades-old convictions including intent to distribute cocaine and stealing alcohol from a package store. Christopher Nichols was convicted of nine offenses in 2002 after he, then a high school senior preparing to depart for bootcamp, joined some buddies in…

Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday recommended pardons for four men convicted decades ago of crimes ranging from property destruction to assault and battery, pointing to their subsequent rehabilitation and calling them “worthy candidates” to wipe the slate clean. The governor moved to pardon Kenneth Dunn, who was convicted in 1971 of larceny from a building; Steven Joanis, convicted in 1990…

A day after President Joe Biden pardoned thousands of Americans convicted of “simple possession” of marijuana under federal law, Massachusetts’ candidates for governor weighed in on what kind of action they would take on the state level regarding such crimes. There is no one currently serving time in federal prison for marijuana possession and the president’s pardon covers just 2% of...

The committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot played testimony revealing which members of Congress asked former President Donald Trump for pardons, even as no known charges had been filed against them.