July 15, 2021The Boston Globe (opinon)By Elizabeth Matos and Ray Champagne Last year, the US Department of Justice excoriated the Massachusetts Department of Correction for its clearly unconstitutional approach to mental health care. Many incarcerated people, their families, and their advocates welcome the news that the Massachusetts Department of Correction plans to end solitary confinement […]
Third stimulus check would go to prisoners, including ‘Boston Marathon bomber’ Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Sen. Tom Cotton complains; But previous checks did, too
March 9, 2021
MassLive
By Benjamin Kail
DOC proposing to tighten oversight of mail
Jan 31, 2021
CommonWealth Magazine
By Sarah Betancourt
State Looks At Closing MCI-Framingham
December 17, 2019
WGBH: All Things Considered
By Arun Rath
Young man dies of drug overdose in Boston police lockup
October 31, 2019
WCVB
Kathy Curran
Deaths in police custody underscore dangers for people arrested with drug issues
July 30, 2019
The Boston Globe
By Michael Levenson
NowThis: Massachusetts Sending Innocent Drug Addicts to Involuntary ‘Treatment Centers’ in Prison-Like Facilities
Innocent people in this state are being involuntarily imprisoned as a form of addiction ‘treatment’
Some say Sheriff Nick Cocchi’s approach to addiction treatment is among the best in Massachusetts — but some say jail is the wrong place for recovery
MassLive July 13th, 2019 By Shira Schoenberg James Felchner has spent time in jail — and he says the facility where he’s getting addiction treatment doesn’t feel much different. “You go outside, you got barbed wire. You’re in numbered cells,” Felchner said. “We get a few extra privileges compared to a jail, but we’re still in […]
MA report: Reform forced addiction treatment process
AP July 6th, 2019 BOSTON (AP) — A state commission is recommending Massachusetts end the practice of sending men with substance abuse issues to correctional facilities for treatment. The report released this week by the Section 35 Commission also opposes efforts to expand use of civil commitment and calls for reforms to the court-ordered process. Read more…
Advocates decry practice of jailing men for addiction treatment
The Boston Globe June 26th, 2019 By Felice J. Freyer A 31-year-old man named Jonathan stood up before a crowd in a State House lounge Wednesday and spoke about a horrific experience. In April, he said, his family abruptly decided that he needed treatment for his drinking. So they took advantage of a state law called […]