Mass officials release 39 CONVICTED MURDERERS who were sentenced to life without parole

The parole board of Massachusetts is set to release 39 "emerging adult" convicts imprisoned for murder who were given life without parole but have now become eligible after a court ruling. The ruling states that those between 18 and 20 at the time of their offense are "emerging adults" and are not permitted to be given life without parole.

Since the ruling was made last year by the state's Supreme Judicial Court, the board has greenlit the release of 39 first-degree murderers as well as those guilty of accessory to murder as they deny parole to 12 other inmates, according to the Boston Herald.

The parole board is facing backlash over the decision to free the convicted murderers. Plymouth DA Timothy Cruz said in a statement, “Using the possibility of parole, and the excuse that the murderer was a young adult as a reason for granting parole, turns the parole option into an eventual get-out-of-jail-free card."

“The blanket granting of parole without any significant recognition or consideration of the suffering of the victims is at best ill-considered,” the DA added. “At worst, it disregards the part of the parole statute that not only requires for a prisoner not to violate the law, but in addition, that release should not be granted if ‘not compatible with the welfare of society.’"

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that it is unconstitutional for 18 to 20-year-olds to be given life without parole in the case of the Commonwealth v. Mattis. The ruling made it so that 200 inmates were given consideration for parole. After 51 decisions, there are still 159 convicts to go.

A Massachusetts Parole Board spokesperson said in a statement, “The Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in Commonwealth v. Mattis requires that individuals serving life for offenses committed at ages 18, 19, or 20 be afforded an opportunity for parole consideration, and the Parole Board is obligated to comply. These complex cases require careful deliberation to protect public safety, ensure the voices of victims and survivors are heard, and evaluate an incarcerated individual’s rehabilitation and readiness for supervised release."

“Guided by legal standards, established criteria, and best practices, the Board makes decisions that reflect accountability, rehabilitation, and public safety,” the board added. “The Parole Board remains deeply committed to transparency and a process that respects victims and survivors while fulfilling its constitutional and statutory obligations.”

Some the convicts who were "emerging adults" include Allen Alston, now 47, who was convicted of murder in the killing a 56-year-old taxi driver and then fled to South Carolina. Alston was 19 at the time.

Roger Francis, now 78, was 20 when he shot and killed a 15-year-old, leaving the victim's body in the median of a highway. He has been given parole.