His father was a shoe factory foreman and Backman grew up in various New England manufacturing towns, including Lynn, Massachusetts, Bangor, Maine, and Claremont, New Hampshire.

[3] While in the House he served as Vice-Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and later as Chairman of the Special Commission on Drug Abuse.

[1] During his tenure in the General Court, Backman was involved in a number of social issues, including health care, mental health, prison reform, divestment of pension funds from South Africa, labor issues, and the plight of refugees.

[2] Backman died on July 19, 2002, at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

Rep. Barney Frank read the following statement into the Congressional Record following Senator Backman's death, which includes a moving Boston Globe editorial by Renee Loth, chief Globe editorial writer, commemorating Sen.