The sources I've read had all said "conviction". Of course there's the ex post facto issue.... but I have no idea how that pans out in court. (eg, is it legal for them to charge you with something, then change the punishment before you get tried?)
-Mike
Not constitutional, but in MA the constitution doesn't count for anything.
If this were legal, after the Marathon fiasco they could have (but never in MA) voted to reimpose the death penalty and then tried the a-hole and execute him. Legally you can't punish someone for a crime more severely than the punishment that existed when the crime was committed.