Commonwealth v. Kneram

In this tragic case, we hold that “whoever,” as used in G. L. c. 138, § 34 (furnishing alcohol to a person under twenty-one), means precisely that. As such, the defendant, a young college student with no criminal record, will serve a jail sentence, the sadness of which is overshadowed by the death of a sixteen year old child struck by another to whom the defendant furnished alcohol.

Background. The defendant pleaded guilty to one count of violating G. L. c. 138, § 34, for furnishing alcoholic beverages *372to a person under twenty-one years of age, and was sentenced to one year of imprisonment,…