70% of all people in jails are legally innocent. Many of them are held behind bars simply because they cannot afford bail. Money bail perpetuates an endless cycle of poverty and jail time.

It’s official! Thomas Rosa is the 100th exoneree from MA. He spent 34 years in prison for a Boston murder he did not commit. He’s already suffered through 40 years, 3 trials, & many losses. But now, we can celebrate along with his family and partners @loevy.com & Boston College Innocence Program.

Our work is about resisting injustice and celebrating the joy of freedom. This year, we honor both at our annual storytelling event, Voices of the Innocent: Resistance & Joy, on September 17, at City Winery Boston. Sponsor this life-changing work here: www.newenglandinnocence.org/voicesofthei...

Over 10 years, 98% of medical grievances filed in federal prisons were rejected — mostly because of ridiculous administrative reasons, like using the wrong size sheet of paper. The system works exactly how it's designed to: Thwart complaints & dodge accountability at every turn.

The Supreme Court refuses to review the 5th Circuit's extremely dubious ruling against Rodney Reed's request for a DNA test, which could prove the death row inmate's innocence. (There is a very good chance he is innocent!) All three liberals dissent. www.supremecourt.gov/orders/court...

Thousands of people detained by ICE are actually held in local, publicly operated jails. These facilities–run by elected sheriffs–are making money off of the federal government's deportation agenda.

Right now, 657,000 people in the U.S. are in jail. The vast majority have yet to be tried in court and are legally innocent. Does that look like a system built on justice?

After 34 years in prison, Thomas Rosa speaks out after learning he won’t be retried in murder case | Click on the image to read the full story

Man freed after 30 years won’t be retried in 1985 Dorchester murder | Click on the image to read the full story

More than 40 years after his wrongful arrest & after spending 34 years in prison for a Boston murder he did not commit, THOMAS ROSA is FINALLY EXONERATED. We are overjoyed that this nightmare is over. Mr. Rosa will be the 100th person officially exonerated in Massachusetts since 1989.

Tommy Rosa is finally exonerated. Long overdue, but it’s never too late to celebrate freedom or justice. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/18/m...

We are proud to have partnered with our colleagues at @newenglandinnocence.org to bring about a day Mr. Rosa has literally been waiting decades to see. "This exoneration doesn’t erase the past, but it restores truth, dignity, and hope for the future,” Mr. Rosa and his wife, Virginia, stated.

More than 40 years after his wrongful arrest & after spending 34 years in prison for a Boston murder he did not commit, THOMAS ROSA is FINALLY EXONERATED. We are overjoyed that this nightmare is over. Mr. Rosa will be the 100th person officially exonerated in Massachusetts since 1989.

In the #GideonvWainwright case, SCOTUS ruled 63 yrs ago: “lawyers in criminal courts are necessities, not luxuries.” Among those excluded were those facing deportation. In the age of mass deportations, immigrants face the full power of the federal government—without a lawyer.

63 years ago today, Gideon v. Wainwright established the right to counsel for those charged with a crime Public defenders are vital to ensuring that people have representation in the legal system. Unfortunately, all too often, public defense systems are underfunded & overworked.

Research shows that more diverse juries are less quick to convict, and that they deliberate longer and more carefully. A landmark reform by former Governor Phil Murphy in January will make the jury pool in New Jersey more representative of the state.

It’s hard to believe we had to fight so hard to do dna testing in a case in which we were paying for the testing and where the results could provide answers for so many, but it’s a good example of how much resistance we face to expose truths. This fight helps us honor the dying wish of our client.

Police contact of any kind is not innocuous: most police killings start with officers responding to a suspected non-violent situation or a case where no crime has been reported.

It’s hard to believe we had to fight so hard to do dna testing in a case in which we were paying for the testing and where the results could provide answers for so many, but it’s a good example of how much resistance we face to expose truths. This fight helps us honor the dying wish of our client.

MYTH: Some people need to go to jail to get treatment REALITY: Most people in local jails have substance use disorders, yet only a tiny fraction of jails provide medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder. Jails are designed for punishment, not care.

The Massachusetts Department of Correction has been fighting me for months, trying to withhold data about its collaboration with ICE. Yesterday, I won that fight, and obtained records showing that the state has transferred more than 2,000 people into ICE custody since 2009. A quick thread:

Left, my story about how the right wing ex-Honduran president was given special treatment after he was pardoned for drug trafficking - and had his ICE detainer dropped. Right, a story about a man who spent 43 yrs in prison for a wrongful conviction & was deported once his convicted was overturned

"In fact, Massachusetts is the only state that voted against Donald Trump in 2024 where a state agency is contracting with the 287(g) program." #mapoli boltsmag.org/massachusett...

The current demands and suggested action items are here: bit.ly/southbayactionhour There is also another toolkit available here: bit.ly/ShutDownSouthBay And there will be another in-person stand out at the Roxbury courthouse on Warren Street this Tuesday, 2/10 at 10 AM. #bospoli

It is unacceptable that a man was killed in the Sheriff’s Department custody, neither the Boston mayor nor Governor has said his name, & the office “investigating” this tragedy is simultaneously prosecuting the witnesses against the officers (who are still working there), a clear conflict. Shame!

It is unacceptable that a man was killed in the Sheriff’s Department custody, neither the Boston mayor nor Governor has said his name, & the office “investigating” this tragedy is simultaneously prosecuting the witnesses against the officers (who are still working there), a clear conflict. Shame!

This has barely gotten any attention even though it should be one of the biggest stories in #Massachusetts. While Maura Healey was attorney general, the Attorney General's Office covered up evidence that hundreds of thousands of criminal convictions may have been tainted by criminal misconduct.

In New Hampshire, law enforcement interrogations are not legally required to be recorded, leaving innocent people more vulnerable to wrongful convictions based on false confessions. Help the @newenglandinnocence.org change that: https://bit.ly/3ZJvKgZ

If your response to state-sponsored killing is "more training," you need to seriously examine your theory of change alongside decades of data. Only a significant reduction/elimination of power, authority, & resources in policing/enforcement can change our dystopian relationship with state violence.

I've read most of the scholarship about US policing since the early 20th century. What you learn from this is that violence is inherent. You cannot "separate" out violence from policing. Police in the U.S. are violence workers.

"[H]e found specific evidence of major detail wrongdoing by 43 officers involved in more than 693 instances and enough evidence against 45 other officers to warrant starting internal-affairs investigations" #bospoli @mayorwu.boston.gov: BPD Commissioner said keep it quiet, don't tarnish my record

"Superintendent Marcus Eddings today sued his boss, Police Commissioner Michael Cox, charging Cox demoted him when Cox demanded he bury proof of fraud among numerous officers on paid details and he refused." Cops are stealing. Jail guards killed a man. @wutrain.bsky.social is silent. #bospoli

FYI: Judge Ellis (Chicago ICE case) noted in November that video evidence shows ICE "brake-checked other motorists in an attempt to force accidents that agents could then use as justifications for deploying force."

If your response to state-sponsored killing is "more training," you need to seriously examine your theory of change alongside decades of data. Only a significant reduction/elimination of power, authority, & resources in policing/enforcement can change our dystopian relationship with state violence.

This man was presumed innocent and killed in the custody of the Suffolk County Sheriff. While our elected officials speak out about what is happening elsewhere, they’ve remained silent about what is happening right here in Boston. State violence is unacceptable in all forms in all places.

Too many people are trying to differentiate between ICE and police. I will hold your hand as I say this: Police in the US treat marginalized people the way ICE treats everyone. They're far more similar than you want to admit. Defunding the police and abolishing ICE are the same fight.

We have a "presumption of regularity" where courts presume that our government acts according to the law & tells the truth. This leads to an uphill battle for our wrongfully convicted clients who have been imprisoned based on false narratives. Let current events lead us to abandon this myth.

People proclaiming to protect public safety are kidnapping, caging, & killing community members. From South Bay to Minneapolis, from sheriffs’ offices to ICE, it’s the same story. It’s not about training; it’s about power & endless resources with no accountability. Gov’t violence is not safety.

What this administration is doing is accelerating and building on what already existed. This is disorienting, I know. We have to do what we can to protect each other locally while we also seriously address the foundational issues. This country has to disempower policing. I hope people understand now

The MPD union, at least, has made it clear which side they are on. This is the cost of DECADES of (everyone, everywhere) refusing to deal with the rising right-wing and white-nationalist involvement in policing.

Pinning your hopes on police orgs breaking with ICE is not sound thinking. sherrilyn.substack.com/p/whether-it...

My new piece is up. open.substack.com/pub/sherrily...

When the government wants to kidnap, cage, or kill you, the first thing they do is dehumanize you. As a community, if we refuse to allow people to be dehumanized, the propaganda loses its power. If we agree that we all deserve freedom and life, none of this can be justified or excused

It's bad enough that the #Massachusetts Trial Court is allowing ICE agents to abduct people from courthouses—they definitely shouldn't be letting them do it in total secrecy by stopping people from recording it. #mapoli

It may be comforting to believe that the violence and injustice of our government/“law enforcement” are a product of “mistakes” that can be “fixed,” but its response tells you they are BY DESIGN. Therefore, the only way to end it is through collective work to strip it of resources and power.

New: we've obtained material explaining how an ICE surveillance system, called Webloc, works. Draw shape on a map, see all phones available there, follow them home. All without warrant “This is a very dangerous tool in the hands of an out-of-control agency.” www.404media.co/inside-ices-...

Remembering today that having your heart broken is a necessary step on the path to becoming fully human. Whichever heartbreak is your first, it’s probably critical that a state break your heart so that you can develop a political imagination. If this is your first, I’m sorry and also welcome.

Let this be a call to action, but let us not believe any of this is new or isolated to ICE. We have given our government the power to kill and cage people by saying it protects us, and we must now say that none of this makes us safer. www.themarshallproject.org/2026/01/07/i...

It doesn’t matter if the person is a US citizen or an immigrant, a mother or a teenager, a person with no criminal record or one accused of a crime: COMMUNITY MEMBERS SHOULD NOT BE MURDERED BY THE GOVERNMENT. If we cannot agree on that, then it empowers propaganda about whose lives matter.

People proclaiming to protect public safety are kidnapping, caging, & killing community members. From South Bay to Minneapolis, from sheriffs’ offices to ICE, it’s the same story. It’s not about training; it’s about power & endless resources with no accountability. Gov’t violence is not safety.