Governor Healey Nominates Sarah Coughlin to Parole Board,
Recommends Four New Pardons
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| Sarah Coughlin |
BOSTON – Governor Maura T.
Healey today nominated Sarah B. Coughlin to the Massachusetts Parole Board.
Coughlin is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and Licensed Alcohol
and Drug Counselor who currently serves as the Director of Community Engagement
and Partnerships at Mass General Brigham.
“Sarah Coughlin has a wide range of experience in many critical
areas that will inform her work on the Parole Board, including violence
prevention, restorative justice, diversion, re-entry, substance use disorder
and mental health services, and community engagement,” said Governor
Healey. “She shares our administration’s commitment to making our criminal
justice system more just and equitable for all and will be an excellent
addition to the Parole Board.”
“I’m honored that Governor Healey and Lieutenant Governor Driscoll
have placed their faith in me to serve on the Parole Board. I've spent my
career working to improve community health and promote healing by addressing
the inequities and traumas that lead to and result from involvement in the
carceral system,” said Sarah Coughlin. “I look forward to working
with my colleagues on the Parole Board and the Healey-Driscoll Administration
to make our communities safer and more just.”
Coughlin is a community organizer, social worker, therapist,
trainer and consultant, and expert witness for state and federal courts. She
has long been an advocate for effective mental health services, the use of
science-based approaches to drug use and addiction, critical justice reform and
equitable access to health care. As Director of Community Engagement and
Partnerships at MGB she uses a collective impact model driven by community to
address the social determinants of health and root causes of health
disparities. She oversees collaborative efforts in Boston focused on youth
violence prevention and provides access to survivor support and
healing modalities in partnership with the Louis D. Brown Peace
Institute.
Coughlin is also a Social Work Expert Vender for the Committee for
Public Counsel Services, where she assists state and federal attorneys with
sentencing reports, parole release plans, clinical assessments, substance use
evaluations, and provides expert testimony at criminal trials, violation
hearings, and child protection cases. She has a Bachelor of Social Work from
Providence College and Master of Social Work from Boston College.
In addition to this nomination, Governor Healey
also recommended four additional individuals to the Governor’s
Council for pardons. Earlier this summer, she became the first Massachusetts
Governor in more than 30 years to recommend pardons in her first elected
year and secured pardons for seven individuals. Those
recommended today are Joanne Booth, Murphy Smith, Evan Willey and Kenny Jean.
“When we recommended our first round of pardons earlier this year,
I said that we were doing it because justice can’t wait. This second
round reflects our continued commitment to that principle,”
said Governor Healey. “These four individuals are deserving of
pardons for offenses that they committed a long time
ago, and they have since taken productive steps to improve
their lives and give back to their communities. Our administration
believes that clemency is a powerful tool to ensure that our criminal
justice system is just and equitable.”
“These four individuals include a child care worker, a public servant,
a marine and a committed volunteer. These pardons will make a significant
impact on their lives and help them to truly move forward from crimes that they
committed a long time ago,” said Lieutenant Governor Driscoll. “We
are grateful to the Governor’s Council for acting quickly to approve our first
round of pardons, and we look forward to work with closely with them to advance
these recommendations as well.”
The Governor of Massachusetts has the power to grant executive
clemency for offenses violating state law, including both pardons and
commutations, with the advice and consent of the Massachusetts Governor’s
Council. A pardon is a forgiveness of the offender's underlying offense. The
Advisory Board of Pardons first reviews all petitions for executive clemency
and makes a recommendation to the Governor. The Governor then makes the
ultimate determination on whether to proceed and grant the petition for
executive clemency with the advice and consent of the Governor’s
Council.
Those being recommended for pardons are:
Joanne
Booth: Joanne was convicted of Assault and Battery on a Police Officer and
Assault and Battery by Means of a Dangerous Weapon in 1979 when she was 18
years old. She was also convicted of Operating to Endanger in 1983. She was
sentenced to probation in both cases. While on probation,
she volunteered at a nursery school to complete her community service hours and developed
a passion for the field. Joanne went on to graduate from community college
and started her career in early childhood education. She was
mostly recently running the pre-kindergarten program to prepare kids to
start kindergarten and served as a mentor to teens who
volunteered with the program. However, in
2021, after her longtime employer received
a grant that required all employees to undergo a criminal background
check, her employer was required to fire her more than 40 years
after her offenses. Joanne has been married to her husband since 1985 and
they have two kids, including a son who served as a United States Marine and a
daughter who recently graduated from college.
Murphy
Smith: Murphy was convicted of Assault in December 1988 when he
was 24 or 25 years old and sentenced to one year of
probation. At the time of his crime, he was in a mental health crisis,
experiencing depression and self-harming. He went on to work as a
nursing assistance, a Corrections Officer for the State of Maryland
and most recently as a Personnel Specialist for the State of Maryland
Spring Grove Hospital. Murphy says he has previously been rejected from
jobs because of his criminal record, and he is concerned that if he ever lost
his job, he would have difficulty getting a new one.
Evan
Willey: Evan was convicted of Operation Under the Influence of
Liquor in 2009 when he was 18 years old and sentenced to pay a
$500 fine. At the time, he had plans to enter the Marine Corps after his
high school graduation, but he was rejected due to his
arrest. He wrote a letter asking for reconsideration and went on
to serve in the United States Marine Corps from 2009 until he was honorably
discharged after being wounded in Afghanistan in 2012. He
later earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Curry
College. He’s been employed by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs for almost
five years. He’s been married since 2010 and has three young children, coaches
his sons’ flag football team and assists with his town’s basketball program.
Kenny Jean: Kenny was
convicted of Armed Robbery in 2016 when he was 18 and sentenced to
2-3 years in prison. He says that at the time, he was homeless and in
desperate need of money. As a teenager, he worked with a nonprofit called
More Than Words, which provides jobs and training to system-involved
youth. When he was released from custody, he continued to work with the
organization. He earned his certificate of completion from South
Coast Education Collaborative, completed the New England Culinary Arts
Training Program and joined a church.
