STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE LEGISLATURE and Gov. Charlie Baker appear headed for another showdown, this time over the next half-decade of facilities management decisions for the state’s prisons and jails. Following the Senate’s passage Thursday of a $5.07 billion general government bond bill, both branches have now approved versions of the legislation that also […]
prisons
Posted inCriminal Justice
Changing incarceration trends lead to prison closure
THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT of Correction on Thursday made a surprising announcement: MCI-Cedar Junction in Walpole will stop housing prisoners over the next two years. The reason the department gave was declining numbers of inmates and increasing costs. Or, in DOC-speak, “a thorough assessment of decreased housing needs and the aging facility’s exorbitant maintenance costs.” But […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
State preparing to close down Walpole prison
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE OFFICIALS plan to wind down operations at MCI-Cedar Junction in Walpole, one of the state’s oldest correctional facilities. The Department of Correction on Thursday announced a two-year, phased plan to “suspend housing operations” at the maximum-security prison, which is currently operating at 68 percent capacity with about 525 inmates. The […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Federal lawsuit alleges brutal abuse by Souza-Baranowski officers
A FEDERAL LAWSUIT filed by Prisoners’ Legal Services on Monday alleges brutal, violent, and racist behavior by correctional officers at the Souza-Baranowski prison, giving a rare look at the alleged horrific abuse that occurred behind the prison walls. The lawsuit followed a Boston Globe Spotlight investigation last summer, which depicted a chilling account of excessive force by prison officers at Souza-Baranowski. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC urged to reduce prison population during COVID
THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION is not doing enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19 because it has failed to take meaningful steps to reduce its prison population, prisoners’ rights advocates are charging in a case currently before the Supreme Judicial Court. The department counters that it has done everything possible to stop the virus’s spread […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Prison shutdowns prompting home confinements, transfers
OFFICIALS AT THE STATE Department of Correction say they intend to move about 200 minimum security prisoners – some to new facilities and some to home confinement under a plan the agency has been working on for three months. According to court documents signed by Commissioner Carol Mici, the move toward home confinement, known as […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Four prisoners die of COVID-19 during holiday week
FOUR PRISONERS at Massachusetts penal institutions succumbed to COVID-19 during the past week, bringing the total number of deaths under the jurisdiction of the Department of Correction to 15 for the duration of the pandemic. The most recent death came Monday morning when a prisoner in his 70s died of complications from the virus at […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker administration crafting home confinement guidelines
WITH COVID-19 infections rising at state prisons, the Department of Correction is preparing to expand testing at the facilities and taking initial steps to release prisoners to home confinement. The new initiatives were disclosed during a conference call between state lawmakers and members of the Baker administration, including Carol Mici, commissioner of the Department of […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Costly connections
AFTER 10 YEARS behind bars, Jurrell Laronal looks back and remembers calls to his partner and stepchildren as one of the few things that kept him sane while bouncing between maximum and medium security prisons in Massachusetts. “It’s everything,” he said toweling off after a workout at his workplace, Quincy’s Crossfit Trifecta MMA. “When you’re […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
As Massachusetts reopens, prisoners remain isolated
AS MUCH OF MASSACHUSETTS continues to reopen, the same loosening of restrictions is not present at the state’s prisons. Many inmates continue to live in lockdown-like conditions, as the Department of Correction works to hold coronavirus at bay. Time lags, with complaints about boredom; there has been a three-month pause in programming services; and inmates […]