Activists and lawmakers gathered on the State House steps Wednesday afternoon to raise awareness and support for two legislative proposals to change how people accused of murder are prosecuted and sentenced.
In Massachusetts, people convicted of first-degree murder are automatically sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. And in some cases, participants in certain crimes resulting in death may be found guilty of first-degree murder even if they weren’t the killer.
Holding red and white signs high above their heads, reform advocates called for people convicted of accessory to murder to receive a lower sentence than the killer, and for an end to all life sentences without the possibility of parole.
“Our humanity is at stake so long as we have life without parole,” said Representative Erika Uyterhoeven of Somerville, a co-sponsor of several criminal justice reform bills, including the proposals to reevaluate murder sentences.
“No one who is serving a life sentence because of joint venture is disposable,” she said, referring to the legal theory that allows a jury to convict someone of murder if they aided or assisted in the crime. “And even if you have committed a crime, you’re still not disposable.”
Close to 100 people gathered under sunny skies on Beacon Street for the rally, which included testimony from family and friends of prisoners, as well as formerly incarcerated men and women. Legislators urged onlookers to learn more about both proposals, and to sign up to testify at a State House hearing Tuesday afternoon.
“My job is not to speak for you. Your voice is always stronger than mine,” Representative Russell Holmes of Boston told the crowd. “We want action, not just a feel-good moment... and none of us speak better than you do.”
In 2017, the state’s highest court narrowed the scope of joint venture in felony murder cases, ruling that accomplices in fatal crimes can no longer be convicted of first-degree murder unless it is proven that they set out to kill or knew their actions would likely turn fatal. However, that ruling was not retroactive.
In the years after the ruling, the families of victims and their supporters have maintained that everyone involved in a violent crime should be held equally responsible, and particularly those who helped plan the act but did not do it themselves. The sister of a young man who was killed in a botched robbery at a Walpole McDonald’s told the Globe last year that such serious crimes involve “a lot of thought and premeditation... and that’s not something to be taken lightly.”
Patrick McNamara, president of the State Police Association of Massachusetts, said Tuesday that police also shared concerns “about the impact on the victim’s families and possibility for repeat offenses.”
Holmes’s proposal, also sponsored by Senator Liz Miranda of Boston, seeks to take the Supreme Judicial Court ruling one step further, so that an accomplice is not held to the same level of responsibility as a killer in any circumstance. The bill proposes that those who aided or assisted in a killing may not be found guilty of first-degree murder, and should receive a sentence of up to 25 years in prison. And unlike the high court’s ruling, the bill would be retroactive, meaning that people previously convicted of murder, but known to not be the killer, would have the opportunity to apply for parole.
In the crowd, Cambridge resident Joan Squeri looked shocked as organizers called out statistics about state incarceration rates; Massachusetts is tied with Louisiana for the highest percentage of prisoners serving life without parole in the country, according to a 2020 report from the Sentencing Project.
“I can’t believe it’s possible for someone who actually committed a murder to [take a plea deal and] get out of prison long before the person who was standing there, or who played a much more minor role,” said Squeri, 67. “I don’t believe that anyone of any political persuasion could say that person got what they deserved.”
A Globe Spotlight investigation last year highlighted several of these cases, including a 1991 shooting inside a Dorchester apartment where one of the gunmen was allowed to plead to manslaughter and served roughly a decade in prison before being paroled. The driver — who never got out of his car or entered the home — is still serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
“I was incarcerated for 26 years, 9 months, and 5 days... [meanwhile] my co-defendant went home with less than 20 years,” said Ronnie Elliott, who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison at 17, and now works as a youth coordinator with the outreach organization Transformational Prison Project.
“Now I’m out, and I’m out to make change... because I don’t believe this law is suitable for any of us,” he said. “If you didn’t kill the person, and you didn’t know what the other person intended to do, you shouldn’t be serving life without parole.”
At the close of the rally, event organizer Cynthia Goldberg said her hope was “to end joint venture, to end life without parole, and to let people know we’re not going to stop until it’s done.”
“This is a serious issue that the community needs to come together and act on,” added Goldberg, who was herself released from prison a decade ago and has sisters currently serving life without parole. “It takes a village, but people can change.”
Ivy Scott can be reached at ivy.scott@globe.com. Follow her @itsivyscott.