Please read my newest article on DigBoston:
Category Archives: Prison & the justice system
MASSACHUSETTS COVID-19 DECARCERATION BILL COULD PROTECT US ALL
My newest article on DigBoston tackles why we must have COVID19 decarceration legislation and brings out the voices of those behind bars and their families. It begins:
“On Friday, March 20, Massachusetts state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa filed An Act regarding Decarceration and COVID-19, emergency legislation addressing the potential coronavirus contamination behind bars.
The day before, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins called for review and release of those who pose no risk to the public, and several sheriffs and prosecutors joined her call for action. While there have been few reported coronavirus cases in Massachusetts prisons or jails, activists across the state have written a number of notices, letters and op-eds, and joined with nationwide coalitions, calling for the governor to use his powers to upend the crisis that could unfold in our prisons and jails.
If we do not act soon, the pandemic will lead to untold deaths.” MORE
Pack the Courthouse and Stand up to Souza
Souza Baranowski Correctional Center
MONDAY, Feb 10 at 2:00, courtroom 1015 Suffolk Superior Court, please come to a hearing on the preliminary injunction filed by MACDL and CPCS. The lawsuit asks for declaratory relief and a preliminary injunction to increase attorney access for men on the north side–Souza’s new “supermax”.
PLAINTIFFS’ MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
Plaintiffs seek a preliminary injunction prohibiting the Department of Correction (DOC) and Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center (SBCC) from 1) denying SBCC inmates access to their legal materials in their assigned living quarters; 2) refusing to permit SBCC inmates sufficient time out of their cells during business hours to make attorney phone calls; and 3) denying attorney contact visits. These actions violate article 12 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights and the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution, as well as existing DOC regulation 103 CMR 403.10 regarding inmate possessions, 103 CMR 486.09 regarding legal paperwork,103 CMR 486.06 and .08 regarding attorney visits, G. L. c. 127, § 36A, prohibiting 2 DOC from abridging or interfering with attorney visitation access, and the Administrative Procedure Act, G. L. c. 30A (“APA”)
WORDS FROM KARTER REED ABOUT SOUZA
“Just wanted to chime in that inmates are attacked and beaten in the very same fashion as the guards in the video the MCOFU “leaked” to Facebook, but the public will never see that footage. While it does not in any way mitigate or justify the actions of a few inmates (in a unit full of dozens who DID NOT attack), it does speak to the atmosphere and environment that is created inside, where constant isolation and injustice fuels the belief that the only recourse to address grievances is through violence. I witnessed and felt it (palpably) for more than twenty years, so while I never acted on it, I UNDERSTAND where those feelings are rooted and how they become/became systemic.
It is awful that a C.O. was attacked, and awful that two others who came to his aid were also attacked—but it is equally awful that theirs is the only story that is told when it is a DAILY occurrence for inmates to be attacked just as viciously (often while handcuffed and/or shackled). Where is the sympathy and empathy for them? Where is the outrage and uproar when they are beaten and brutalized? Where are those videos, and why have they never been made public?
The percentage of inmates who participate in assaults on staff is minuscule to the point of being statistically irrelevant, yet on the contrary, the number of guards who participate in assaults on inmates is staggering. It is both horrific and horrifying that politicians and the public are being manipulated to worsen conditions and increase deprivation in a place already fraught with hopelessness and despair. Bravo to all those who questioned whether the answer might be more programming and more freedoms, but sadly naïveté and reactionary emotion too often win the day here. I am of course hoping that the collective voice of all those in the know will be able to shout the truth loud enough that it cannot be ignored—”
Advocacy Groups Detail Abuse Campaign Against Souza-Baranowski Prisoners Call for Thorough Investigation
(Boston, MA) Advocacy groups today detailed the abuses inflicted on prisoners at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center by correctional officers allegedly in retaliation for a January 10 incident in which three officers were hurt.
The National Association of Social Workers, Prisoners’ Legal Services, the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Families for Justice as Healing have received over 100 reports from prisoners and their family members seeking help. They are calling for an immediate alleviation of conditions at the prison, including access to contact visits with families, an independent investigation of the assaults that have transpired since January 10, 2020, and scrutiny regarding any increase in funding that could be allocated to additional staffing versus rehabilitative programming.
A lawsuit was filed Friday by the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Committee for Public Counsel Services regarding the unprecedented almost two-week period of time that people incarcerated at SBCC were not allowed to make any phone calls, even to attorneys, and attorneys were not allowed to visit their clients at the prison.
Victoria Kelleher, President of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL) explained, “In the aftermath of an alleged assault on corrections officers on January 10, 2020, prisoners were denied attorney visits and phone calls for more nearly two weeks. Many prisoners have
Other organizations have also expressed concern over the many reports of violence on prisoners emerging from the facility.
Rahsaan Hall, Director of the Racial Justice Program at the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts (ACLUM) said, “The ACLU of Massachusetts stands with our advocacy allies and the families and loved ones of those who have been locked down at Souza Baranowski. The accounts we’ve heard about the deplorable conditions and unprovoked assaults on the people incarcerated there are disturbing and require a full investigation into every officer and official responsible for participating in the assaults or allowing them to happen. The justifications we’ve heard that tie these conditions to recent criminal system reforms is a perverse attempt to undo the hard fought progress that was achieved. Therefore, we have just submitted a public records request to obtain information that will give us more insight into the details of what has been happening inside.”
Family members of those incarcerated at the prison have contacted a number of these organizations in addition to their legislators and media to plea for help in alleviating the conditions there. Jurrell Laronal, an impacted family member with Families for Justice as Healing stated, “DOC cannot justify the mistreatment of people incarcerated at Souza, nor can they back up reckless claims that reform increases violence. Enough is enough. How much longer is abuse of power going to continue? It’s time to hold correctional officers and the DOC accountable.”
“What’s happening inside this prison represents a blatant violation of human rights. Denying prisoners access to legal representation, to mental health professionals like social workers, and physically assaulting prisoners without provocation is unacceptable and criminal and we demand a full investigation” said Rebekah Gewirtz, Executive Director of the National Association of Social Workers, MA Chapter.
The types of abuse that have been consistently reported include:
Violence
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The day of the incident, all individuals in that unit had their clothes taken away and were made to kneel outside the inner control room for 3-5hours.
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Some prisoners who tried to move or get up reported being beaten, having their heads smashed against the wall, attacked and bitten by dogs, and/or tased.
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Other prisoners who were assaulted have been denied the ability to file grievances.
Confinement
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Between January 10 and January 24 most, if not all, prisoners at SBCC have been locked in their cells for 24 hours.
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Sometime during the weekend of 1/25/20, prisoners started being allowed out of their cells for only 15 minutes at a time.
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People with serious mental health conditions are also subject to these conditions
Deprivation
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Prisoners were unable to shower from 5 days to 2 weeks
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On January 10, all property – pens, pencils, paper, books, clothing, shoes, personal photos, letters, legal papers, televisions, radios, and food – was removed from people’s cells. Accounts are that this was institution-wide.
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No family visits have been allowed since 1/10/20.
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Only cold food (bologna sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches) has been served since January 10.
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There are multiple reports of juice and milk being served in chemical containers.
Elizabeth Matos is the Executive Director of Prisoners’ Legal Services. The organization has heard dozens of accounts consistently reporting the above conditions. She stated that,“This kind of crackdown is not run of the mill, nor should it ever be acceptable to any of us. The Commonwealth cannot implement reform and create meaningful pathways to reentry without also appropriately responding to these serious allegations of retaliation. We hope we can continue to find ways to move forward together.”
DATE CHANGE! RE: PAROLE IN MASSACHUSETTS
From The Steering Committee of the Coalition for Effective Public Safety
NOTE DATE CHANGE BELOW!
The State House, Massachusetts
GOV. BAKER HAS NOMINATED YET ANOTHER CAREER PROSECUTOR TO SIT ON THE PAROLE BOARD. CALL YOUR GOVERNOR’S COUNCILLOR NOW TO OPPOSE THIS NOMINATION.
The governor has nominated Karen McCarthy, a prosecutor for the past 27 years at the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office, to fill a vacancy on the Parole Board. The Parole Board has seven members and McCarthy would be the fifth one from law enforcement. She is being nominated to fill the spot left by another career prosecutor, Paul Treseler, now a judge.
TELL YOUR GOVERNOR’S COUNCILLOR: NO MORE LAW ENFORCEMENT.
Massachusetts legislators envisioned a diversified parole board when they required that persons appointed to the Board have an undergraduate degree and at least five years of experience and training in one or more of the following fields: “parole, probation, corrections, law, law enforcement, psychology, psychiatry, sociology [or] social work.” Our present Parole Board already has four members who have spent their careers in law enforcement– (Chair Gloriann Moroney, former Suffolk ADA), corrections (Sheila Dupre and Colette Santa), parole (Tina Hurley)– and one in law (Tonomey Coleman).
At present, there is only one person from human services on the Board, psychologist Charlene Bonner, who has been sitting in holdover status for a year because the governor has not re-appointed her.
When parole boards are dominated by law enforcement, hearings are often an attempt to re-try the crime. Board members lack the expertise to ask more meaningful questions about recovery from mental illness and participation in sex offender and substance use treatment programs. However, given that 80% of the incarcerated population suffers from these ailments, we desperately need people on the Parole Board who have dedicated their careers to substance use and mental health treatment, trauma informed practices and adolescent brain development.
CALL YOUR COUNCILLOR NOW: Nominations to the Parole Board must be approved by a majority vote of the eight-member Governor’s Council. We can make a difference. Act now!
● Urge your councillor to vote “no” on Karen McCarthy’s nomination.
● Tell your councillor that we need an experienced social worker, another forensic or clinical psychologist or a psychiatrist on the Board who has experience working with persons with substance use disorders, mental illness, and trauma; and understands adolescent brain development.
● Ask your councillor to confirm only those who have demonstrated a belief in redemption and value rehabilitation and transformation.
● Tell your councillor that a diverse Board combats a purely punitive approach to parole and is a necessity for fairness.
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THE PAROLE BOARD’S JOB:
Parole is an important public safety tool that, when properly administered, eases re-entry problems, lowers recidivism, and results in significant cost-savings. As 70 community groups noted in a 2017 letter to Governor Baker and Chief Justice Gants, it has been understood for decades that formerly incarcerated people reoffend at significantly lower rates when they receive appropriate support and supervision on parole. In Massachusetts, however, due to our very low parole rates, most parole-eligible people complete or “wrap up” their sentences in prison and transition home with no help and no oversight.
It is the job of the Parole Board to understand and predict behavior. Our system of parole only works when the Parole Board is made up of a well-rounded group of people who have the expertise necessary to properly evaluate candidates for parole. As the Parole Board gains more and more members with backgrounds in law enforcement, the parole rates drop correspondingly and precipitously. When parole rates drop, the rates of recidivism rise. A lack of diversification on the Parole Board not only leads to lower parole rates, but it also leads to less informed parole hearings and decisions. The vacancy on the Board must be filled by someone who believes in parole and second chances and who has education, training and expertise in mental illness, substance use, trauma and adolescent brain development.
PAROLE IS NOT WORKING IN MASSACHUSETTS:
● We have extremely low parole rates, which means we have too many people incarcerated; many persons who are ready for parole are being passed over by this law-enforcement-leaning Board. See June 2018 letter to Governor signed by 45 community groups.
● People on parole are being returned to prison for very low-level technical violations, instead of receiving appropriate treatment in the community, again leading to unnecessary incarceration.
● The Parole Board is not ruling on Commutation Petitions and Requests to Terminate Parole. Some have been pending for over three years, again leading to unnecessary incarceration.
● The Board takes up to a year to rule on parole-eligible lifers’ requests for parole. This contributes to unnecessary incarceration and is evidence of a poorly run Board.
● The Board’s failure to maximize parole supervision is extremely costly for taxpayers. According to DOC, the average annual cost of housing a state prisoner is $70,892, while the estimated cost of a year of parole supervision is less than $10,000. (The Board reported an annual cost of $5,000 in 2013.)
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COME TO THE PUBLIC HEARING AT THE GOVERNOR’S COUNCIL on June 19th at 11:00 am – Room 360 at the Statehouse. YOUR PRESENCE IS IMPORTANT.
But right now, WE NEED YOU TO MAKE CALLS BEFORE THE JUNE 12th HEARING. IF YOU CANNOT CALL, PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO YOUR COUNCILLOR.
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FIND YOUR DISTRICT: http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/eledist/counc11idx.htm
MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR’S COUNCILLORS. HERE ARE THE PHONE NUMBERS/EMAIL ADDRESSES TO USE.
Joseph C. Ferreira – District 1
7 Thomas Drive
Somerset, MA 02726
GC: 617-725-4015, ext. 1
Fax: 508-230-2510
Email: jferreira@lynchlynch.com
Robert L. Jubinville – District 2
487 Adams Street
Milton, MA 02186
GC: 617-725-4015, ext. 2
Bus: 800-828-9010
Fax: 617-698-8004
Email: Jubinville@comcast.net
Marilyn M. Petitto Devaney – District 3
98 Westminster Avenue
Watertown, MA 02472
GC: 617-725-4015, ext. 3
Cell: 617-840-7689
Fax: 617-727-6610
Email: marilyn.p.devaney@gov.state.ma.us or marilynpetittodevaney@gmail.com
Christopher A. Iannella – District 4
263 Pond Street
Boston, MA 02130
GC: 617-725-4015, ext. 4
Bus: 617-227-1538
Fax: 617-742-1424
Email: caiannella@aol.com
Eileen R. Duff – District 5
8 Barberry Heights Road
Gloucester, MA 01930
GC: 617-725-4015, ext. 5
Bus: 978-927-8700
Fax: 617-727-6610
Email: eileenduff3@gmail.com
Terrence W. Kennedy – District 6
3 Stafford Road
Lynnfield, MA 01940
GC: 617-725-4015, ext. 6
Bus: 617-387-9809
Fax: 617-727-6610
Email: twkennedylaw@gmail.com
Jennie L. Caissie – District 7
53 Fort Hill Road
Oxford, MA 01540
GC: 617-725-4015, ext. 7
Bus: 508-765-0885
Fax: 508-765-0888
Email: jcaissie@caplettelaw.com
Mary E. Hurley – District 8
15 Fields Drive
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
GC: 617-725-4015, ext. 8
Bus: 413-785-5300
Fax: 413-733-3042
Email: mhurley@pellegriniseeley.com
