A man initially sentenced to death in 1975 for the rape and murder of a 17-year-old Worcester girl after they got in a car crash has seen his case reconsidered more than once.
But even after 50 years of incarceration, the Massachusetts parole board is not yet ready to grant his release.
Stephen Richmond was convicted of first-degree murder on June 11, 1975 and sentenced to death. He was also convicted on one count of rape and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Richmond successfully appealed those convictions and had another trial in Worcester Superior Court. He was again convicted on those charges in March 1977 — but was sentenced to concurrent life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Richmond had already been convicted in two additional, separate sexual assault cases at the time and was ordered to serve those sentences concurrently. This included up to 10 years in state prison for assault with intent to rape charges out of Barnstable County and up to 10 years for rape, kidnapping and armed robbery out of Worcester County.
The charges that led to Richmond’s initial death sentence stem from the killing of a 17-year-old girl on Jan. 11, 1975, according to the Parole Board’s decision.
At about 3:45 a.m., the girl was driving home to her parents’ house in Worcester after attending a party earlier that night. While passing through Paxton, Richmond struck her car.
Richmond argued with the teenager at the scene of the car crash, then dragged her, screaming, into his own car. He drove to an isolated area in Paxton where he severely beat and raped the girl, then strangled her.
Richmond dumped the 17-year-old’s body on the side of the road, where she was found several days later. He later admitted to the murder during an interview with Worcester police.
However, in January 2024, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled in Commonwealth v. Mattis that sentencing people, ages 18 through 20 at the time of their offense, to life without the possibility of parole was unconstitutional and amounted to “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Massachusetts was the first state in the country to transform the law, experts said.
“Essentially, the brains of what we are calling ‘late adolescents’ or ‘emerging adults’ function very much like juveniles,” Northampton attorney Paul Rudof, one of the lawyers who successfully challenged life sentences for individuals aged 18 to 20, told The Republican.
There were 210 cases that fell into the Mattis decision across Massachusetts, including Richmond.
Besides Richmond’s age at the time of the crime, Board members considered a doctor’s evaluation when he appeared before the Board in July. His nephew and friends testified in support, while the Worcester girl’s sister and three friends testified in opposition, along with Worcester County Assistant District Attorney Donna Haran.
Board members were concerned with Richmond’s lack of “accountability and insight,” according to their decision dated Nov. 20. Given his age and health, he will be eligible again for another review in three years.
The court’s Mattis decision has been devastating for the families of those killed, as they are forced to relive the trauma, often going in front of the parole board and the incarcerated individual to make their own case.
Families have described the process as a “nightmare,” stating they feel betrayed and that the system is treating murderers as victims while their own pain is ignored. One family member during a previous hearing walked out, feeling as if his side wasn’t being fairly heard after the incarcerated individual was told they did a good job.
The parole board has so far granted freedom to more than 25 people, which is a significant majority of those who have had hearings and decisions released.
