Averett v. Commissioner of Correction

Claiming that they had served in full the sentences imposed on their convictions but that the Commissioner of Correction (commissioner) had ordered the forfeiture of their statutory good time credits in violation of their rights, the inmate petitioners sought their “immediate release” in the Superior Court on petitions for writs of habeas corpus brought under G. L. c. 248, §§ 1, et seq. After hearings, the judge allowed the petitions, issued the writs, and denied the commissioner’s requests for a stay of the final orders pending an appeal. The commissioner next sought stays from single…