Robert Foxworth, whose murder conviction has long been questioned, may finally see justice
By Adrian Walker Globe Columnist,Updated December 22, 2020, 7:26 p.m.
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âI ask these judges to close their eyes and act as if their child, or grandchild, or niece or nephew was the defendant, waiting for justice,â Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Robert Foxworth was tried and convicted in 1992 of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a suspected drug dealer in Dorchester.
Now 53, Foxworth awaits the reversal of a conviction both defense attorneys and Suffolk County prosecutors believe to be unjust.
GREAT BARRINGTON â Several lawsuits filed by former students who allege rampant abuse at a now-shuttered boarding school were settled this year for undisclosed amounts. Other lawsuits are pending.
Three lawsuits against the Eagleton School, its founder and former director Bruce Bona, as well as staff, have settled with former students of the school for boys ages 9 to 22 with emotional, behavioral and cognitive disabilities.
Two suits are pending â one in U.S. District Court in Springfield, the other in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston.
In two cases, settled in federal court, the former students had asked for $9.9 million and $1 million. Chester Tennyson, their attorney, said he could not reveal the amount of the settlements. One of his cases is pending.
AG calls out Bristol sheriff in ongoing battle over alleged civil rights violations at his detention center
By Laura Crimaldi Globe Staff,Updated December 22, 2020, 5:36 p.m.
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Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson (left) and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey.Steven Senne/AP; John Tlumacki/Globe Staff (Custom credit)
Attorney General Maura Healey on Tuesday fired back at Bristol Sheriff Thomas Hodgson in a sharply worded letter, suggesting he should discuss with her office his concerns about a recent investigation into alleged civil rights violations at his detention center.
In an e-mail to Hodgson,
Healey questioned why
to complain about not being interviewed.
Her body was found in Franklin Park in June and authorities want to find her killer
By John R. Ellement Globe Staff,Updated December 22, 2020, 3:52 p.m.
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Leslie Atkins in an undated family photo.Jason Atkins
Thereâs an audible tinge of optimism in the voices of Bostonâs Emergency Medical Services paramedics and EMTs when theyâre dispatched. And that was the case when crews were sent to Jewish War Veterans Drive inside Franklin Park on a warm Sunday afternoon in June, where a woman had been discovered lying in the woods.
But about 15 minutes later, the voice that came over the radio was anything but upbeat.
Gig workers deserve employment protections
The misclassification of employees as independent contractors predates the emergence of the gig economy and has been a method of skirting the cost of standard worker protections.
By Mark ErlichUpdated December 18, 2020, 11:54 a.m.
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Gig workers are still a small fraction of the total workforce, but the extension of independent contracting could shred decades of employment protections for future generations of workers.Michael Dwyer/Associated Press
and delivery drivers from a 2019 law, Assembly Bill 5, which brings Californiaâs gig economy into compliance with conventional employment laws.
The law codified a 2018 California Supreme Court ruling that established the âABC testâ as the determinant of employment status. The test presumes a worker is an employee unless three clear and simple criteria are met: the individual is free from the hiring companyâs direction and control; performs work that falls o