Overview

• Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey recommended pardoning seven people convicted of crimes decades ago ranging from drug possession to arson.
• The pardons must be approved by the Governor's Council, an eight-member body that vets judicial nominations and grants clemency.
• Healey said the seven individuals were fully vetted and had been convicted of crimes years ago at a young age.
• Healey is working to revise clemency guidelines to take into account factors like racial disparities and brain development in young people.
• The proposed pardons are believed to be the most by a first-year governor in 40 years and are meant to modernize the state's clemency process.