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Massachusetts high court rules individuals under age 21 cannot be sentenced to life without parole

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Massachusetts high court rules individuals under age 21 cannot be sentenced to life without parole


The highest court in Massachusetts ruled on Thursday that individuals under the age of 21 cannot be sentenced to life without parole, becoming the first state to do so. In a 4-3 decision overruling the previous legislative action, the court raised the minimum age from 18 to 21, citing brain development science and the Massachusetts Constitution as a source for a “contemporary standard of decency.”

The decision comes from Commonwealth v. Sheldon Mattis, a case wherein Sheldon Mattis was convicted for the shooting death of Javion Blake in 2011 when he was 18. Mattis was sentenced to life without parole and the co-defendant, who was 17 at the time, was sentenced to 15 years with the possibility of parole.

In their decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court concluded that “emerging adults, who are 18, 19, or 20, are not fully mature.” In relying on scientific research, the court also noted that “the scientific record strongly supports the contention that emerging adults have the same core neurological characteristics as juveniles.” In concluding the decision, the court declared it unconstitutional and a violation of Article 26 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights as well as the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution, which protects against cruel and unusual punishment.

The scientific record of the case presented evidence that showed that “emerging adults” lacked impulse control. Emerging adults were found to display similarities to those at the age of 16 and 17, rather than older adults. The record established that they lack a fully developed prefrontal cortex that regulates impulse.

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According to the court, Massachusetts is only one of ten states that require 18 to 21-year-olds who are convicted of murder in the first degree to be sentenced to life without parole.

Individuals have advocated for change in the criminal justice system since the 2013 ruling in Mattis. The attorney who represented Mattis, Ruth Greenberg, called the court’s decision “courageous.” Greenberg said, “The Supreme Judicial Court has set the standard for the nation. We’re the first, and won’t be the last, to recognize that people under 21 are not deserving of punishment of life without the possibility of parole.”

The decision allows anyone who has been sentenced to life without parole before the newly initiated parole system introduced in July 2014 for minors convicted of first-degree murder to become eligible for parole after serving 15 years. This allows for individuals, like Mattis, to be resentenced in accordance with the decision. Anyone following the date must serve between 20 and 35 years before parole consideration.



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Massachusetts

20k customers without power in Revere, Winthrop areas

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20k customers without power in Revere, Winthrop areas


National Grid is reporting that roughly 20,000 customers are without power due to outages in the Winthrop and Revere areas.

The utility company’s live outages map shows that 10,753 customers are without power in the Revere area and 9,261 customers are without power in the Winthrop area as of 2:25 p.m. Saturday.

The Herald has reached out to National Grid for comment. The Herald has also reached out to Eversource for information regarding any outages in their service regions, where a Herald photographer has seen some outages. Eversource’s outage map did not display any major outages at 2:25 p.m.

This is a developing story.

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Eight takeaways from Friday’s high school playoffs action, including four 1,000-point scorers – The Boston Globe

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Eight takeaways from Friday’s high school playoffs action, including four 1,000-point scorers – The Boston Globe


Find the full scoreboard here, along with everything we wrote Friday night:

Not seeing your team’s highlights in Takeaways? Here are all the ways to submit scores and stats to Globe Schools via phone, email, and social media.

▪ Cathedral senior Keyona Raines scored 15 points, including the 1,000th of her career, as the No. 5 Panthers handled No. 28 Hudson, 60-43, in the first round of the Division 4 girls’ basketball tournament.

▪ Sutton junior captain Ava Carroll netted her 1,000th career point during a 29-point effort in a 49-31 Division 4 first-round win over Easthampton.

▪ With a layup in the waning seconds of the first half, Anna Freeman became the 10th Medway player, and first since Riley Childs in 2018, to score 1,000 career points. She finished the 55-24 Division 3 first-round win over St. Paul with 17. Her father, Matt Freeman, scored 1,000 points at Bishop Feehan.

▪ Burlington boys’ basketball senior Matty Gray reached 1,000 career points during a 25-point performance in a 95-58 Division 2 first-round rout of Holliston. He reached the mark on a first-quarter layup.

▪ Falmouth boys’ hockey senior Kody Pokraka rode two assists to 100 career points during a 5-4 Division 2 first-round win over Plymouth South.

It was a chalky day, with only one significant upset: No. 22 Greater Lawrence girls’ basketball easily handling No. 11 Hamilton-Wenham, 65-45, in the Division 4 first round thanks to 13 3-pointers as a team and a combined 47 points from Serenity West (24) and Maliah Caban (23).

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The only other lower seeds to win were No. 18 Marshfield boys’ basketball, which took out No. 15 Cambridge, 66-63, in overtime in the Division 1 first round, and No. 34 Arlington Catholic boys’ basketball, which survived No. 31 Duxbury, 64-60, in Division 2 preliminary-round action.

The finish of the night came in No. 17 South Hadley’s 61-60 win over No. 16 Madison Park. Trailing 60-59 and inbounding with 10.3 seconds left, the Tigers got an off-balance 3-pointer, but junior Noah Hambley crashed the boards and in one fell swoop secured the rebound and put it back up off the glass for the winning bucket as time expired in a boys’ basketball Division 4 first-round matchup.

The Oliver Ames boys got four free throws from Jacob Lok in the final 26 seconds to squeak past Canton, 45-42, in the first round of the Division 2 bracket. The Acton-Boxborough girls also needed overtime to complete a 53-49 Division 1 first-round triumph over Brookline.

The only overtime hockey game of the night saw the Diman boys net an equalizer in the final minute of regulation before Marlborough’s Ethan Guo supplied the heroics just 2:08 into the extra frame, propelling the No. 8 Panthers into the Division 3 second round with a 6-5 victory. Anthony Tramontozzi and Chace Lozano each scored twice for Marlborough

Caroline Arruda, Marshfield — The sophomore poured in 32 points to push the Rams to a 68-63 preliminary-round win over Westborough.

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Gaby Bassett, Nauset/Monomoy — The senior capped her hat trick with the winning goal in a 4-3 Division 2 opening-round win over Burlington.

Brody Bumila and Jake Webster, Bishop Feehan — The seniors took control of an 85-67 Division 1 first-round victory, with Bumila providing 32 points and 14 rebounds and Webster going for 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Avery Gamble, Oliver Ames — The senior’s 3-point shot wasn’t falling, but she didn’t let that get in the way of a 34-point performance, 2 off her career best, during a 59-50 Division 2 first-round win over Bedford.

Eileen Lowther, Hingham — The junior controlled the glass, pulling down 15 rebounds and blocking six shots to go with 12 points in a 54-43 Division 2 first-round win.

Mollie Mullen, Bishop Feehan — The senior from Dighton delivered 21 points, 9 steals, and 5 assists as the No. 2 Shamrocks rolled to a 71-30 Division 1 first-round victory over Peabody.

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Maura Quirk, Acton-Boxborough — The sophomore was cleaning the glass to the tune of 17 rebounds while adding 13 points in a 53-49 overtime win in the first round of the Division 1 bracket.

Senior Sophia O’Donnell made history, becoming the first St. Mary’s athlete to sign to become a Division 1 rower. O’Donnell will row for Merrimack.

Milton Academy graduate Cormac Ryan signed a two-way NBA contract with the Bucks on Thursday, making him the fourth former member of the Middlesex Magic AAU program currently in the NBA, along with The Pistons’ Duncan Robinson, Hornets’ Pat Connaughton, and Knicks’ Tyler Kolek.

Ryan, who hails from New York, was a three-time All-NEPSAC selection at Milton Academy before playing at Stanford, Notre Dame, and North Carolina. He spent the last two seasons in the G League with the Oklahoma City Blue and Wisconsin Herd. He played with the Thunder’s Summer League team in 2024.

Quinnipiac junior Anna Foley, a 6-foot-3-inch Andover graduate, was celebrated for reaching 1,000 points during a ceremony Friday. She passed the mark on Feb. 12 in a 62-40 victory over Siena. A two-time All-MAAC second team selection, she’s averaging 9.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

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8. Basketball leaderboard

Avery Gamble, Oliver Ames, 34

Caroline Arruda, Marshfield, 32

Brody Bumila, Bishop Feehan, 32

Weston Bunnell, Stoneham, 29

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Joe Baraky, Duxbury, 28

Zach Georges, Pioneer Charter I, 27

Kelsi Lanza, Silver Lake, 27

Josh Roux, Andover, 26

Ava Bailey, Newburyport, 25

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Allie Danis, Newton North, 25

Angie Djoko, Danvers, 25

Noah Feldman, Marshfield, 25

Matty Gray, Burlington, 25

Jackson Hines, Arlington Catholic, 25

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Connor Houle, Attleboro, 25

Katelyn Troilo, Mansfield, 25

Alex Ste. Marie, Manchester Essex, 24

Serenity West, Greater Lawrence, 24

Noah Bayersdorfer, Winthrop, 23

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Maliah Caban, Greater Lawrence, 23

Josh Jenkins, Barnstable, 23

Reagan Maniscalco, Tewksbury, 23

Colin Trimble, Foxborough, 23

Eva Andrews, Needham, 22

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Alaysia Drummonds, Foxborough, 22

Trevor Manning, Ipswich, 22

Gia Porazzo, Foxborough, 22

Sarah Powers, Wayland, 22

Ryan Tullish, Middleborough, 22

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Chase Gara, Sutton, 21

Mollie Mullen, Bishop Feehan, 21

LaDainian Rodrigues, Attleboro, 21

Rex Satter, Ipswich, 21

Jake Webster, Bishop Feehan, 21

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Aboubakar Nimaka, Malden Catholic, 20

Dylan Raffle, Milton, 20

Maeve Horsman, Oliver Ames, 18

Eva Andrews, Needham, 17

Maura Quirk, Acton-Boxborough, 17

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Tony Dean, Stoneham, 15

Eileen Lowther, Hingham, 15

Brody Bumila, Bishop Feehan, 14

Angie Djoko, Danvers, 12

Camden Strandberg, Bridgewater-Raynham, 11

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Avery Teixeira, Bishop Feehan, 11

Sophie Gallivan, North Reading, 10

Shannon LaMorticelli, Bishop Feehan, 10

Aboubakar Nimaka, Malden Catholic, 10

Zarah Ochi, Burlington, 10

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Ashley Varnum, Bridgewater-Raynham, 10

Lila Polansky, Bridgewater-Raynham, 8

Duke Cherry, Malden Catholic, 7

Sophie Gallivan, North Reading, 7

Erin Reilly, Burlington, 7

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Jake Webster, Bishop Feehan, 7

Caroline Connors, Millis, 6

Egan Gill, Bishop Feehan, 6

Rex Satter, Ipswich, 6

Marcus Tayag, Pioneer Charter I, 6

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Rayana Laurent, Pingree, 5

Mollie Mullen, Bishop Feehan, 9

Reagan Maniscalco, Tewksbury, 6

Ella O’Keefe, Oliver Ames, 5

Dylan Raffle, Milton, 4

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Ava Sicari, Burlington, 4

Rex Satter, Ipswich, 3

Eileen Lowther, Hingham, 6

Maeve Horsman, Oliver Ames, 5

Zarah Ochi, Burlington, 4

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Gaby Bassett, Nauset/Monomoy, 3

Griff Callahan, Martha’s Vineyard, 2

Max Cronen, Monomoy/Mashpee, 2

Addy Harrington, Duxbury, 2

Jaxon Hoey, Norwell, 2

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Chace Lozano, Marlborough, 2

Mackenna Metell, Martha’s Vineyard, 2

Christos Rogaris, Dover-Sherborn/Weston, 2

Mark Trahon, Norwood, 2

Anthony Tramontozzi, Marlborough, 2

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Bryce Campanale, Norwell, 3

Maeve Turner, Falmouth, 3

Violet Cox, Falmouth, 2

Ryan Heidt, Martha’s Vineyard, 2

Cam Long, Norwell, 2

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Kody Pokraka, Falmouth, 2

Bailen Darack, Martha’s Vineyard, 22

Sammie Precourt, Dennis-Yarmouth, 16


Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.





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State health officials announce two confirmed cases of measles in Massachusetts – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

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State health officials announce two confirmed cases of measles in Massachusetts – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News


BOSTON (WHDH) – State public health officials have announced two confirmed cases of measles in Massachusetts this year.

The first case came from a school-aged resident who was exposed and diagnoses while out of state. This person has remained out of state during the infectious period.

The second case was diagnosed by an adult in Greater Boston. Officials say this person had recently returned from international travel with an uncertain vaccination history.

This person visited several locations. Both local and state health officials are working with the locations to identify and notify those who were potentially exposed.

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“Our first two measles cases in 2026 demonstrate the impact that the measles outbreaks, nationally and internationally, can have here at home. Fortunately, thanks to high vaccination rates, the risk to most Massachusetts residents remains low,” said Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, MD, PhD. “Measles is the most contagious respiratory virus and can cause life-threatening illness. These cases are a reminder of the need for health care providers and local health departments to remain vigilant for cases so that appropriate public health measures can be rapidly employed to prevent spread in the state. This is also a reminder that getting vaccinated is the best way for people to protect themselves from this disease.” 

(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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