At Department of Correction, a death of compassion

Boston Globe June 28, 2018 By Yvonne Abraham How meaningful is the state’s new compassionate release law if it doesn’t help a man for whom it seems to have been designed? That’s the question that must be asked in the case of Alexander Phillips, the first inmate to apply for medical release under the state’s […]

Massachusetts Department of Correction settles lawsuit on treating inmates with hepatitis C

March 10, 2018 MassLive By Shira Schoenberg The Massachusetts Department of Correction has reached a settlement with prisoners’ rights groups over its medical treatment of prison inmates with hepatitis C. The settlement requires prisoners with the most serious cases of hepatitis C to be treated within 12 months. Prisoners with less serious cases will have […]

Among state lawmakers, compassionate release of inmates is divisive issue

By Milton Valencia The Boston Globe October 20, 2016 State lawmakers applauded the recent request by the federal government to free former House speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi from prison early under a program for elderly and severely ill inmates, agreeing that DiMasi, who has twice battled cancer while incarcerated, should be home with his family. […]

With prisoners left out, state’s work on hepatitis C drug access is far from over

Letter to the Editor by PLS Staff Attorney Joel Thompson Boston Globe August 6, 2016 MASSACHUSETTS’ DECISION to lift restrictions on hepatitis C treatment for MassHealth patients is laudable (“Wider access to hep C drugs is humane and pragmatic,” Editorial, July 29), but those and other restrictions remain in place for the more than 1,500 […]

Pregnant inmates still being shackled in Massachusetts, report finds

By Shira Schoenberg MassLive May 16, 2016 Two years ago, then-Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed a law banning the shackling of prison inmates who are in labor, in their second or third trimester of pregnancy or post-delivery. But today, pregnant women are still being shackled, contrary to the law, according to a study released Monday […]