We are making available a number of brief statements written by individuals serving Life Without Parole sentences in Massachusetts.

Members of the PRFA task force have met each of these individuals on several occasions within the institutions of the Department of Correction in which they are confined. While individually and organizationally we make no judgments regarding their ability to return to society with little or no risk of violating societal norms, we do believe that these individuals, and others similar to them, are excellent candidates for a just parole board review which could recommend granting parole.

Those who are likely to make a successful transition to life outside the walls are able to make something of their life inside the walls. They tend to take leadership roles in the wealth of prisoner organized organizations. They take many courses, and some are able to get advanced degrees. They correspond.

These individuals recognize the violent damage they have done to others, acknowledge the changes they have had to make and believe that they can be caring and supportive individuals, helping others. We do not include any statements by those who continue to assert innocence, not because we doubt their assertions, but rather because currently, admission of guilt is one hurdle to gaining parole. Those who assert innocence choose not to fabricate a story to satisfy that requirement. That hurdle remains for another day; we are confident there are a significant number of erroneous convictions of murder yet to be recognized by the courts.