Partnering With Massachusetts Department of Correction, Prisoners’ Legal Services, and Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association in Providing Tips on How to Protect Against Fraud Office of Attorney General Maura HealeyMay 2, 2022 BOSTON — Attorney General Maura Healey is partnering with the Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC), Prisoners’ Legal Services (PLS), and the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association (MSA) to advise […]
Media & Public Outreach
Advocates call for end to men being sent to correctional facilities for substance abuse treatment
GBHBy Esteban BustillosApril 20, 2022 Advocates are calling for the end of a Massachusetts policy that allows men to be put in correctional facilities when they are involuntarily commited for treatment of substance use disorder. The practice, which is allowed under a statute known as Section 35, ended in 2016 for women but is still […]
Mass. legislators debate whether to fund addiction programs that lock people up
WBURBy Deborah BeckerApril 21, 2022 Massachusetts lawmakers are debating whether to continue supporting programs that put people inside jails and prisons for addiction treatment. Both Gov. Charlie Baker and the House leadership have proposed setting aside roughly $23 million in the budget for such addiction programs. But State Rep. Ruth Balser has filed budget amendments […]
Involuntary substance abuse programs at Mass. jails, prisons amount to ‘inhumane’ treatment, advocates say
Budget amendments target funding for Section 35 programs in Hampden County The Berkshire EagleBy Chris Van Buskirk, State House News ServiceApril 20, 2022 BOSTON — Involuntary treatment programs at jails and prisons in Massachusetts for people with substance use or alcohol disorders can create “inhumane” settings and lead to relapses post-release. That was the message […]
Changing incarceration trends lead to prison closure
Walpole will stop housing prisoners in 2024 Commonwealth MagazineBy Shira SchoenbergApril 8, 2022 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 […]
MCI Cedar Junction to close, a milestone reflecting falling crime rates, sentencing reform
The Boston GlobeBy Laura Crimaldi and Travis AndersenApril 7, 2022 With the state’s inmate population at a 35-year low, state officials on Thursday announced plans to shut down the maximum-security prison in Walpole over the next two years, citing the high cost of repairing the facility and a statewide effort to phase out solitary confinement. […]
The Jailing of Jesse Harvey
A drug war activist turned to civil commitment for help — and found a civil liberties nightmare. Type InvestigationsBy Jordan Michael SmithMarch 23, 2022 Jesse Harvey had one big idea left. Charismatic and outspoken, he was a graduate student of public policy at the University of Southern Maine and a prominent activist battling the drug […]
2 Mass. prisons mishandled COVID and neglected prisoners, report by disability advocates claims
WBURBy Deborah BeckerMarch 28, 2022 Some Massachusetts prisons fell short in handling the coronavirus pandemic and neglected disabled and medically vulnerable prisoners, according to an investigation by the Disability Law Center. A new Disability Law Center (DLC) report released Monday examined coronavirus mitigation efforts within specialized medical units at MCI-Norfolk and MCI-Shirley. Among the more serious findings […]
Fewer than 10% of applicants have been granted medical parole, frustrating some Mass. lawmakers
WBURBy Deborah BeckerMarch 3, 2022 A group of state lawmakers on Monday visited a health care unit inside a state-run prison after receiving multiple complaints of understaffing, unsanitary conditions and inadequate medical treatment. Several of the lawmakers, along with some prisoner advocates, said issues at the health care unit inside MCI-Norfolk raised questions about the […]
Letter to the Massachusetts Senate Ways and Means Committee advocating for corrections & Sheriffs’ Departments budget accountability and transparency
This letter was submitted to the Massachusetts House and Senate Ways and Means Committees on January 31, 2022 to advocate building greater transparency and accountability into the Department of Correction (DOC) and Sheriffs’ Departments’ budgets. Substantial funding is allocated to incarceration each year despite a declining number of people in custody. With budget season kicking […]