Healey faces scrutiny over four criminal cases ahead of Tuesday's election
A Boston Herald column details the legal histories of four defendants, framing them as evidence of lenient sentencing under the current governor.
By Jonathan Reed ·
The central conflict in Massachusetts' gubernatorial race centers on the definition of public safety. As voters head to the polls on Tuesday to decide the fate of Gov. Maura Healey, a widely shared opinion piece from the Boston Herald argues that the state has adopted a lenient approach to justice. The column, authored by Howie Carr, contends that the administration prioritizes procedural accommodations over incarceration for violent offenders.
Carr illustrates this stance by profiling four specific cases from the past week. He argues that these incidents demonstrate a pattern where defendants with extensive criminal histories receive minimal consequences. The analysis suggests that factors such as language barriers, demographic identity, and specific legal charges have influenced the outcomes in these courts.
The first profile is Raul Feliciano, a 63-year-old US citizen from Worcester. Feliciano is charged with raping an underage girl in the basement of a church in Milford. According to the column, his record dates back to 1989. It includes five prior charges for failing to register as a sex offender, all of which were closed or disposed of without prison time.
Khristion D. Mojica Gouveia, a resident of Lowell, serves as the second example. He is currently charged with slashing a victim's neck with a box cutter outside a Salvation Army. A prosecutor described the incident as being one inch away from murder. Gouveia had been placed on probation earlier in the year for assault and battery against a pregnant victim.
Carlos Candelario, a 36-year-old man from Lawrence, is the third subject. Police found him in a Tewksbury motel with two women they alleged were being held against their will. Candelario faces charges including kidnapping and identity fraud. His record includes a 2025 charge for trafficking in 18 to 36 grams of heroin, which was dismissed.
The final case involves Junming Zhu, a 28-year-old from Malden. Zhu killed a bicyclist near Memorial Drive in 2024. Seven weeks prior to the fatal crash, he had fled the scene of an accident in Melrose after leaving a casino in Everett. Despite this history, he received a citation rather than an arrest for the first incident. For the killing, he received a one-year sentence after requesting a Mandarin translator for his sentencing.
Carr notes that Healey resides in Arlington with armed state police protection. He contrasts this security with the outcomes for the four defendants. The column urges voters to consider these examples when casting their ballots on Tuesday.
The election is scheduled for Tuesday. The four cases cited in the analysis occurred within the past week, providing fresh data for the campaign's final arguments.
