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Lawmakers hear survivor‑driven push to clarify strangulation statute to improve prosecutions

5873001 · September 23, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Senator Robin Kennedy and domestic violence advocates urged the judiciary committee to adopt S.1145 to replace vague language in the strangulation statute, saying the change would improve charging, prosecution and survivor safety.

Boston — Survivors’ advocates and lawmakers told the Joint Committee on the Judiciary on Sept. 21 that Massachusetts’ legal definition of strangulation leaves too much ambiguity for first responders, prosecutors and judges, undermining investigations and survivor safety.

Senator Robin Kennedy said strangulation is “one of the most dangerous and frequently undercharged forms of domestic violence” and…

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