Massachusetts

DA revisiting hundreds of unsolved Boston-area homicides

A St. Louis police officer is accused of driving a van too roughly to punish two prisoners, court documents claim.

BOSTON — The Suffolk District Attorney's office is launching a new initiative to revisit hundreds of cold-case homicides.

DA Rachael Rollins says the campaign will devote more law enforcement time and resources to unsolved murders in Suffolk County, which includes Boston.

It's being launched Friday under the acronym PUSH, which stands for Project for Unsolved Suffolk Homicides. Authorities say there are 1,367 open murder cases dating back to the 1960s.

Rollins says she empathizes with families who have lost a loved one and are still waiting for justice. She says: "Lives were stolen - we must never forget that."

Rollins says easing up on prosecutions of nonviolent crimes such as drug possession and shoplifting will let law enforcement focus on unsolved slayings.

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