Darkens Bonnett, who was 18 when he fatally shot a man outside a Lynn nightclub in 2009, has been granted parole by the Massachusetts Parole Board in a unanimous vote. The board ordered that he be released within two weeks under strict conditions, including a nightly curfew, six months of electronic monitoring and required mental-health counseling. Bonnett, now 34, is still being held at a minimum-security pre-release facility while officials finish mapping out his transition back into the community.
How he became eligible
Bonnett’s case came back into play after the state’s highest court ruled in January 2024 that people who were 18 to 20 at the time of their crimes cannot be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. The decision created a new category of “emerging adults,” reopening long-settled life terms and forcing the Parole Board and courts to revisit older cases. As outlined in the opinion, protections that once applied only to juveniles were extended to this age group, according to Justia.
What happened in 2009
Prosecutors say Vincent Gaskins, 30, was shot outside Soriano’s Nightclub on Market Street in Lynn on the night of Nov. 22, 2009, and later died of his wounds. Bonnett was convicted in 2012 of first-degree murder after a jury trial, then spent years pursuing appeals and post-conviction motions. Local coverage at the time reported that the shooting took place in the parking lot across the street from the club at 41 Market St., according to The Daily Item.
Parole terms and reaction
In its three-page decision, the Parole Board pointed to Bonnett’s record behind bars, noting that he completed his GED, has been employed while incarcerated, enrolled in Boston College’s liberal-arts program and “has had no disciplinary reports in the last 10 years.” The panel heard emotional testimony on both sides: friends, family and a social worker backed his release, while Gaskins’s relatives and a prosecutor argued against it, joined by a letter from the Lynn police chief opposing parole. The board attached a slate of conditions to Bonnett’s freedom, including a ban on contacting Gaskins’s family and a requirement that he abstain from drugs and alcohol, according to The Boston Globe.
What comes next
Bonnett’s case is one of many reopened after the Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling, and advocates say the Parole Board has been inundated with so-called “Mattis” hearings as it works through dozens of newly eligible emerging-adult cases. Earlier reporting chronicled a first wave of releases and the pressure this accelerated schedule has put on both the board and reentry planning efforts. Bonnett is currently housed at the Northeastern Correctional Center in West Concord while officials complete the paperwork for his supervised release, according to Boston.com and the facility listing on Mass.gov.
