Restorative Justice at Work: Victim’s Family Joins Plea for Clemency for Joseph Donovan

By Carol Hallisey

Should the Commonwealth of Massachusetts display mercy to convicted felons?  This question lies at the heart of the Joseph Donovan story.  In 1993, at the age of 17, Donovan was tried and convicted of first degree murder under the ‘joint venture’ theory of law. The case involved the brutal murder of Yngve Raustein, a 21-year-old exchange student from Norway who was attending MIT.

Raustein died at the hands of a 15-year-old teenager, who viciously stabbed Raustein without warning or provocation. Tried as a juvenile, the killer served less than 11 years for his crime.  Though he was unarmed, Joseph Donovan and another young man who accompanied the killer that night were tried as murderers.  Donovan refused to accept a guilty plea on lesser charges in exchange for testimony against the murderer, insisting that his crime consisted of assault and battery, not murder.   He is now serving a life sentence in Massachusetts with no chance of parole.

Donovan has accepted full responsibility for his role in Raustein’s murder, in particular starting the fracas which led to the murder.  His family, friends and supporters feel that, after more than 17 years in prison, Joseph has fully paid his debt to society.  Joseph’s supporters include the family of the victim, Yngve Raustein, as well as the judge who presided over his trial and the jurors that convicted him.  This group asks for a full commutation of his sentence and release from prison.

The family and friends of Joseph encourage you to visit www.supportjoedonovan.org and learn more about his story. There, you can access an online petition in support of Joe which has been signed by more than 800 people.

Carol Hallisey writes on behalf of the family of Joseph Donovan.