Latest news with #NorfolkCounty
CBS News
4 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Norfolk County sheriff talks rehabilitation in Massachusetts prisons, weighs in on Karen Read case impact
Massachusetts' Norfolk County Sheriff Patrick McDermott is lobbying for federal funding that will help convicts reacclimate into society, saying ultra-harsh conditions in prison are a thing of the past. McDermott said the main role of the sheriff is not just overseeing punishment for crimes but "the care and custody of those individuals in the criminal justice system ... and most of those individuals are dealing with mental health issues as well as substance use disorder." That's why McDermott, in his role as head of the Massachusetts Sheriff's Association, traveled to Washington last March to meet with the President and top Trump administration law enforcement officials to lobby for continued federal funding for programs aimed at helping prepare convicts for their eventual reentry into society. In an interview on WBZ's Sunday edition of "Keller At Large," McDermott said he didn't know yet if budget cuts just passed by Congress will affect those local programs. "We're a little bit nervous because there's a significant amount of money that goes into our medically assisted treatment program that all of the Massachusetts sheriffs were on the cutting edge of years ago," he said. "It's an expensive program, however it is a successful program, and there's been research that shows that medically assisted treatment programs work." While McDermott says he came away from his meetings in March feeling that the importance of this approach was acknowledged, he did note a difference in philosophy with the feds exposed by recent talk of re-opening the long-shuttered Alcatraz federal prison in San Francisco, a cultural symbol of ultra-harsh incarceration policy. "I think that that idea has come and gone. I think that Hollywood, as well as sometimes reality is sensationalized, 'lock them up, throw away the key, don't feed them.' That hasn't worked," McDermott said. He said Massachusetts sheriffs are focused on rehabilitation and reentry. "Yes, we recognize that people are in the criminal justice system for having violated crimes, and there are victims, obviously in these crimes as well. We don't want to be forgetful of that," he said. "But ... these individuals that are coming into our care and custody are coming back to live in Quincy and in Newton and at Wellesley, they're coming back into these communities, so we need to give back a better product than we received, and that's why reentry begins on day one." McDermott also discussed embattled Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey, and the impact of social media on the justice system in the wake of the Karen Read case. McDermott, a former aide to Morrissey at the State House, said he has full confidence in the district attorney. "Mike Morrissey is a man of high integrity," McDermott said. "And I think that when the dust settles on the Karen Read case as well as many other cases that Mike has had to prosecute over the course of his tenure, he will continue to do so, he's going to have to answer to that and answer the people and he's one person that I know can do that." Watch the entire interview in the video player above and join us every Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. for more conversations with top local policymakers.
CTV News
15-07-2025
- CTV News
More than 50 charges laid during Pottahawk weekend in Norfolk County
The Ontario Provincial Police issued more than 50 charges during the annual boat party in Norfolk County, but they say all incidents were minor. OPP estimate approximately 450 boats and 2,500 people took part in Pottahawk weekend at Pottahawk Point. Between Saturday and Sunday, the police's marine team laid a total of 12 charges under the Liquor Licence and Control Act and 10 charges under the Canada Shipping Act. One person was charged with impaired operation. Meanwhile, over on dry land, one driver was charged with stunt driving while 24 other drivers were hit with speeding charges. Police said they issued a total of 32 charges under the Highway Traffic Act and two charges under the Liquor Licence and Control Act. 'Norfolk County OPP attributes the lack of any serious, possibly fatal incidents to the presence of emergency services who worked diligently to ensure public safety for the annual event, and to those in attendance who prioritized safety throughout the course of the day,' Tuesday's release from police read. OPP thanked Norfolk County Paramedic Services, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Coast Guard for their help keeping everyone safe.
CTV News
04-07-2025
- Automotive
- CTV News
Highway 24 reopens after single-vehicle rollover
OPP cruiser shown in this undated file image. CTV NEWS/BARRIE Highway 24 in Norfolk County has reopened after a single-vehicle rollover. The road was closed between Norfolk County Road 19 East and Norfolk County Road 19 West. Minor injuries have been reported.
CTV News
04-07-2025
- Automotive
- CTV News
Highway 24 closed after single-vehicle rollover
Highway 24 in Norfolk County remains closed after a single-vehicle rollover. The road is closed between Norfolk County Road 19 East and Norfolk County Road 19 West. Minor injuries have been reported. Closures will remain for the next few hours as police investigate.
CNN
23-06-2025
- CNN
Evidence in Karen Read's case led to ‘only one person,' prosecutor says in first statement since her acquittal
The special prosecutor who led the retrial of Karen Read is 'disappointed' in the jury's decision last week acquitting Read of killing her police officer boyfriend – saying Monday in his first statement since the verdict 'the evidence led to one person, and only one person.' 'I am disappointed in the verdict and the fact that we could not achieve justice for John O'Keefe and his family,' said Hank Brennan, who was appointed by the Norfolk County, Massachusetts, district attorney to retry the case against Read after her first trial ended with a hung jury. Read had been accused of drunkenly striking O'Keefe, a Boston cop, with her SUV on a wintry night in January 2022. But she was vindicated last week when her jury found Read not guilty of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. Jurors did convict Read of drunken driving, for which she will serve one year of probation. Upon his appointment, Brennan – himself a well-known criminal defense attorney – was given 'full discretion to independently assess the case and follow the evidence no matter where it led,' he said. But neither his own review nor a federal investigation into the case that he says is closed yielded 'any other possible suspect or person responsible for the death of John O'Keefe,' his statement says. 'After an independent and thorough review of all the evidence, I concluded that the evidence led to one person, and only one person.' Special Prosecutor Hank Brennan At trial, Brennan tried to convince jurors Read backed her SUV into O'Keefe outside a home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton clipping O'Keefe which led to a fall and multiple skull fractures around 12:30 a.m. on January 29, 2022. Read had claimed to be the victim of a cover-up, alleging others responsible for O'Keefe's death had conspired with police to frame her. And Read's many supporters – both outside the Dedham, Massachusetts, courthouse and online – championed her case, echoing her allegations of police corruption as her defense inside the courtroom painted the investigation as flawed and biased. As she left the courthouse last week, Read thanked her supporters and told reporters, 'No one has fought harder for justice for John O'Keefe than I have.' While it's unclear whether the investigation into O'Keefe's death will continue, Read's defense attorneys in recent days have suggested more could be done: 'They charged the wrong person. But somebody's still out there,' David Yannetti told CNN affiliate WCVB. In his statement Monday, Brennan also lamented what he called the 'campaign of intimidation and abuse that has been waged, funded, and promoted in public and on social media,' saying it was 'the antithesis of justice.' 'If this type of conduct becomes commonplace, it will threaten the integrity of our judicial system, affecting both victims and criminally accused,' he said, adding: 'We cannot condone witness abuse, causing participants to worry for their own safety or that of their families.' 'It is my hope that with the verdict, the witnesses and their families will be left alone,' Brennan's statement says. 'The harassment of these innocent victims and family members is deplorable and should never happen again in a case in this Commonwealth.' 'My heartfelt condolences to the O'Keefe family and faith that over the coming years they will find peace and closure,' Brennan said.
