Springfield gang ‘enforcer’ given parole after 31 years
A Springfield man was granted parole 31 years after he was an "enforcer" in a gang, helping kill a 22-year-old woman in hopes of rising higher in the gang.
Sylvia Ramirez was killed on May 28, 1994 after 19-year-old Leyton Burgos told other gang members Ramirez was a "godmother" of a rival gang and that she "had to die."
At the time, Burgos was an "enforcer" for the gang but hoped to be elevated to the position of "chief warlord." He said that in order to be promoted it would be necessary to "hit five people," the Massachusetts Parole Board wrote. The day before the murder, Burgos met with several gang members and assigned roles to others who would participate.
Burgos was not in the car when Ramirez was shot but he was still found guilty of accessory before the fact to murder and received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
However, in January 2024, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled in Commonwealth v. Mattis that sentencing people, ages 18 through 20 at the time of their offense, to life without the possibility of parole was unconstitutional and amounted to "cruel and unusual punishment."
Massachusetts was the first state in the country to transform the law, experts said.
"Essentially, the brains of what we are calling 'late adolescents' or 'emerging adults' function very much like juveniles," Northampton attorney Paul Rudof, one of the lawyers who successfully challenged life sentences for individuals aged 18 to 20, told The Republican .
There were 210 cases that fell into the Mattis decision across Massachusetts, including Burgos.
He went in front of the parole board for the first time on May 6.
On Oct. 14, the parole board unanimously decided to grant him parole after six months in a lower security facility.
More on the Massachusetts Parole Board
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