BOSTON — Nearly two decades after a deadly shooting during an attempted robbery in Lowell, the Parole Board has voted to release the man who pulled the trigger.
Christopher Middlemiss, of Lowell, was four months shy of his 21st birthday when he gunned down 23-year-old Alberto Cintron inside the victim’s Shaw Street apartment in the early morning hours of July 4, 2006.
Middlemiss was convicted of first-degree murder in 2008 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
But the idea that he would spend the rest of his life behind bars changed in recent years.
The decision to release Middlemiss followed a sweeping shift in how Massachusetts treats young adults sentenced to life terms, after the state’s highest court cited research showing that people in their teens and early 20s do not yet have a fully developed prefrontal cortex — the region that governs judgment, impulse control and emotional regulation.
The Supreme Judicial Court’s Commonwealth v. Mattis ruling established that sentencing “emerging adults” who were 18 to 20 at the time of their crimes to life without parole is unconstitutional and amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. As a result, Middlemiss was resentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 15 years, making him newly eligible for review.
“It drew on prior rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court — which held what every parent knows to be true — which is that children are fundamentally different from adults and less culpable than adults and more capable of change,” said Middlemiss’ attorney, Zachary Lown.
In a letter to the Parole Board expressing “serious concerns about his release,” Middlesex Assistant District Attorney Adrienne Lynch outlined the events that landed Middlemiss in prison.
She stated that Middlemiss and accomplice Joseph Morgan, who was 21 at the time, broke into Cintron’s apartment at 115 Shaw St. shortly after 2 a.m. intending to rob him of drug profits. Both were armed with .45-caliber handguns and masked, but the plan unraveled when Cintron recognized Middlemiss as his neighbor despite the disguise.
A struggle followed, and Middlemiss opened fire, hitting Cintron with multiple shots.
Cintron managed to call 911 and identify the gunman as “Chris … one of the neighbor’s downstairs” before dying at the hospital, according to Lynch.
Middlemiss, meanwhile, fled to Florida, where he was arrested a few weeks later.
Middlemiss was sentenced to life without parole, while Morgan was convicted separately and is serving his own life sentence.
The Parole Board’s decision filing stated that in his October 2025 hearing, Middlemiss presented nearly two decades of rehabilitative work: four disciplinary reports in 19 years, steady employment, a high‑school equivalency diploma earned early in his sentence, and participation in treatment and educational programs.
A psychological evaluation rated him low‑risk, and he had already been housed in minimum security for more than a year. Family members, a psychologist, and a licensed clinical social worker testified in support of his release.
Lown stressed that the Mattis ruling does not guarantee parole but ensures that people who committed crimes as emerging adults receive a “meaningful opportunity” to seek it.
That opportunity, he said, comes only after an exhaustive review of a person’s life.
A parole hearing involves hours of questioning and extensive evaluations, along with a sweeping review of records: school files, psychological assessments, criminal history, medical and mental‑health records, court documents, and appeals, as well as “essentially everything they’ve ever done since being incarcerated,” Lown said.
Candidates must also demonstrate strong support systems to “ensure success” once released.
“He began his rehabilitation and took responsibility for his crime way before there was even a glimmer of hope that he would ever get parole,” Lown said.
Middlemiss participated in restorative‑justice programming, a process that requires offenders to confront the harm they caused, take responsibility and engage in dialogue aimed at accountability and empathy.
Lown said that over time, Middlemiss became a teacher, coordinator and facilitator in restorative‑justice programs and in “alternatives to violence” workshops, helping others understand their own trauma and learn nonviolent conflict‑resolution skills.
He also trained service dogs for disabled veterans.
Quoting Middlemiss from the hearing, Lown said: “I’ve spent the last 18 years reflecting deeply on the pain and suffering (I caused the victim’s family and loved ones). I’ve considered my crime in the context of how I came to commit it, and I’ve worked to redefine myself.”
Lown added that Middlemiss hopes to work with young people after his release “so that they don’t go in the same direction and make the same mistakes he did.”
Cintron’s brother spoke at the hearing, forcefully opposing Middlemiss’ release, according to Lown.
Middlemiss told his attorney afterward that he understood the brother’s anger.
“He said he certainly has the right to feel that way,” Lown said.
But Lynch urged the board to deny parole, arguing that the brutality and planning behind the killing outweighed Middlemiss’ progress behind bars.
In her letter, Lynch stated that Middlemiss made a conscious decision to arm himself, put on a mask, and enter his neighbor’s home with the expectation that force might be necessary. When Cintron recognized him, she noted, Middlemiss “could have left but instead fired the gun multiple times, directly at the victim,” before fleeing to Florida.
Lynch also pointed to Middlemiss’ shifting accounts over the years, initially claiming he did not know whether his gun was loaded and blaming Morgan for the fatal shots.
His actions that night, she stated, were “not an isolated impulsive act of a juvenile, but rather a conscious decision of a nearly 21‑year‑old man.”
While acknowledging his participation in rehabilitative programs, Lynch argued that “serving 19 years for taking an innocent life pales in comparison to the lifetime void the victim’s family must endure.”
She warned that releasing him now “arguably weakens the deterrent impact” on other young people who might engage in gun violence.
If parole were granted, she recommended strict conditions, including a gradual transition through lower‑security settings, long‑term residential programming, and intensive community‑based counseling.
“Given the cold-blooded actions of a nearly 21 year old man with a previous history of violence who had many opportunities to reverse coursethat fateful night, his intentional shooting of a known neighbor in a senseless robbery for cash, his cowardly flight to avoid apprehension, his subsequentinability to take accountability, and implication of a co-defendant as pulling the trigger, this office has serious concerns about his release at this time whenbalanced against the time he has served to date for such an unnecessary and brutal crime,” Lynch concluded in the letter.
In its March 12 decision, the board concluded that Middlemiss “has demonstrated a level of rehabilitation that would make his release compatible with the welfare of society.”
Six board members voted to grant parole, while one voted for denial with a two‑year review.
Middlemiss will be released to a residential reentry program or an approved home plan after a two‑week transition period. Conditions include electronic monitoring for six months, a nightly curfew, substance‑use testing, mental‑health counseling, and a no‑contact order with the victim’s family.
He is expected to be released at the end of this month.
Because he was originally sentenced to life, Middlemiss will remain on parole for the rest of his life, unless the board later votes to end his supervision — a step that is uncommon.
“Children and young people are fundamentally different from adults,” Lown said. “They are less culpable and more capable of change. When you’re in your 40s, you’re not the same person you were in your teens. I would hope everyone would be able to relate to that.”
Follow Aaron Curtis on X @aselahcurtis, or on Bluesky @aaronscurtis.bsky.social.
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