In re Riley

The petitioner is a transgender woman who was convicted of murder in the first degree by extreme atrocity or cruelty, G. L. c. 265, § 1,2 as well as disseminating matter harmful to a minor, G. L. c. 272, § 28.3 She is currently serving a sentence on the former conviction of life in prison without the possibility of parole.4 As part of her transition from male to female, the petitioner filed a pro se petition in the Probate and Family Court under G. L. c. 210, § 12, seeking to change her name to feminize it. That statute provides that "[t]he change of name of a person shall be granted unless…