Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni is calling for a legislative change to a medical parole loophole. Since changes to the state's medical parole law in 2018, the Hampden DA's office has been notified of 45 petitions for medical parole, 47-percent of the petitions have been made by convicted murderers.
Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni stated, “Although it may first appear that justice is rendered through the court system in cases ending with a conviction, families soon come to realize that the fight doesn’t end there, and that justice is not indelible. Soon thereafter, seemingly endless appeals and motions come like the seasons, year after year. Their fight for justice never ends, and the pain never subsides.”
The DA met with the families of murder victims. Those families angered that they have to relive the agony of the loss of a loved one just because of an alleged medical need.
Gulluni however says under no circumstances should a person convicted of first degree murder be allowed out of prison for any reason. And, certainly not for the reasons that some have suggested as reasons for medical paroles.
"Of those 45 petitions nearly half, 21, of those petitions have been made by inmates convicted of murder. Some of the reasons cited for this early release, purportedly to establish a “permanent incapacitation”, have included: hypertension, the need for a wheelchair, pre-diabetes, insomnia, obesity, COVID-19, and back pain," according to the DA.
Gulluni says the change has been exploited to abolish justice once done at the expense of victims and their families.
(Photo Credit: Hampden County DA's office)