Judge declines comment on killer's release

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Kathe Tuttman, who is at the center of a growing controversy that has former Governor Mitt Romney calling for her resignation, declined to comment on the issue today.

"The canons of judicial conduct prohibit me from making any statements," she said in a brief telephone interview with the Globe.

Romney, who is running for president, has called on Tuttman to resign after she released a convicted killer who had served his sentence but faced new charges of assaulting jail guards. After being released, the killer, Daniel Tavares Jr., allegedly killed a newlywed couple in Washington state.

Romney appointed Tuttman when he was governor, and one of his Republican rivals, Rudy Giuliani, used the incident today to criticize Romney's record on crime.

"The governor is going to have to explain his appointment and the judge is going to have to explain her decision, but it's not an isolated situation," Giuliani told The Associated Press during an interview aboard his campaign bus during a stop in Laconia, N.H. "Govover Romney did not have a good record in dealing with violent crime."

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