WBURBy Deborah BeckerJuly 11, 2022 A report obtained by WBUR attempts to document what’s often a hidden problem: sexual misconduct against women incarcerated in Massachusetts. The research, from Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts, is based on interviews with 22 women, either currently or formerly incarcerated in prisons and jails across the state. Of the women interviewed, the […]
New Report Proposes a Different Way Forward for Incarcerated Women in Massachusetts
For immediate release BOSTON – July 11, 2022 – Today, Prisoners’ Legal Services’ (PLS) Women’s Incarceration Conditions and Reentry Project (the Women’s Project) released a new report detailing the traumatic experiences of incarcerated women in Massachusetts and the urgent need to remedy the harm that women face in the carceral system. The report, A Different Way […]
Souza-Baranowski prison to introduce officer-worn body cameras
Pilot program aims to improve safety, transparency Commonwealth MagazineBy Shira SchoenbergJanuary 27, 2022 SOME CORRECTION OFFICERS at Souza-Baranowski prison will begin wearing body cameras this summer, under a new pilot program being launched by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. The maximum-security state prison has come under increasing scrutiny amid allegations of brutality by prison guards. “Implementing this […]
Corrections officers at Souza-Baranowski to get body cameras for the first time
The change comes as leaders at the Department of Correction face two federal lawsuits alleging excessive force against prisoners. The Boston GlobeBy Mark ArsenaultJanuary 27, 2022 Officers at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center will be equipped with body-mounted cameras for the first time as soon as this summer, in a $1 million pilot program announced Thursday […]
Prison guards to wear body cameras at Souza
WBURBy Deb BeckerJanuary 27, 2022 Correction officers at Massachusetts’ beleaguered maximum security prison will soon wear body cameras. The state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security announced the pilot program Thursday, saying the cameras will strengthen transparency and accountability at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center. “Implementing this BWC (body-worn camera) pilot program reinforces our commitment […]
Federal lawsuit alleges more than 100 prisoners were beat, attacked at Souza prison
WBURJanuary 11, 2022By Deb Becker There is continued fallout from a lockdown at the state’s maximum security prison two years ago. A federal class action lawsuit, filed by advocacy group Prisoners Legal Services (PLS) of Massachusetts, accuses state correction officials of violently retaliating against prisoners at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley after an assault on a […]
Federal lawsuit accuses state officials of retaliatory violence against Souza-Baranowski prisoners
Class-action case filed by nine Black and Latino men focuses on treatment by prison officials in early 2020 The Boston GlobeBy Mark ArsenaultJanuary 11, 2022 A federal lawsuit filed Monday by nine Black and Latino men who are, or recently were, incarcerated at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center accuses prison officials of orchestrating “weeks of unprovoked, retaliatory […]
New lawsuit accuses state officials of retaliatory violence against prisoners
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BOSTON – January 10, 2022 – Today, Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts (PLS) and the law firm Hogan Lovells filed a class action lawsuit against the Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC) and its officials responsible for overseeing Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center (SBCC) during a campaign of systematic, extreme, and unconstitutional violenceagainst more than […]
Correction Department cries out for oversight
With officer brutality and discipline shrouded in secrecy, the need for an independent eye is obvious. The Boston GlobeBy the Editorial BoardDecember 1, 2021 When brutality happens not on a city street but behind prison walls, there’s no citizen with a cellphone to record the abuse of authority, and often no bystander to bear witness […]
Lessons from ‘The taking of Cell 15’: Reform corrections
Lessons from ‘The taking of Cell 15’: Reform corrections August 22, 2021The Boston GlobeBy The Editorial Board The story of “The taking of Cell 15″ at Souza-Baranowski, the state’s maximum security prison, isn’t just about its two occupants on that January day, it’s about a prison system that prefers gag orders to transparency, where those […]