�DONATIONS ARE NOT NEEDED. THEY GO TO THIS WEBSITE�

On July 23, 1995, Janet Downing's 16-year-old son found her stabbed 98 times in their Somerville, Massachusetts home. His 15-year-old neighbor and best friend Edward O’Brien was arrested for Janet's brutal murder. It was clear from the gruesome scene that Janet, just 5 feet 2 inches tall and 114 pounds, had fought for her life. But the petite mother of four was no match for his 6-foot-4, 260-pound frame. 

In the fall of 1997, O’Brien was tried as an adult. With compelling evidence and creditable eyewitness testimony, O'Brien was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. But because of a December 2013 ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that now gives juveniles convicted of murder serving a mandatory life sentence a chance at parole, O’Brien has requested a parole hearing for Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

This is extremely distressing and traumatizing for Janet's loved ones, who are now forced, again, to fight for justice. At only 15 years old, O'Brien was capable of viciously murdering his best friend's mother, a woman he knew his entire life and was always kind to him. He has never shown remorse for his actions. Janet's family can’t imagine how dangerous he would be as a grown man after being in prison all of these years. Releasing this offender would absolutely pose a threat to society. Janet's loved ones urge the parole board to uphold the original sentencing and deny his request for parole.