08-07-2025
Defendants released in Massachusetts as pay dispute with public defenders remains unresolved
BOSTON — Defendants are being released in Massachusetts in the wake of a prolonged dispute over pay for the state's public defenders, and one of those set free was charged with a serious crime.
The first four defendants without legal representation were freed Monday by a Boston judge following a ruling last week by the state's highest court to implement a process that requires releasing defendants without attorneys after a week. Among them was a man accused of strangling his pregnant girlfriend.