More than two dozen people in Massachusetts have recently been given parole despite originally being sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

That’s because in January of 2024 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled — in a case called Commonwealth v. Mattis — that sentencing individuals aged 18 to 20 to life without parole is unconstitutional, giving dozens of incarcerated individuals a second chance at freedom. But it’s also forcing the families of those killed to relive their trauma.

MassLive has been following the individual parole board hearings . We also took a larger look at what is happening during these cases.

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