Articles by Peter Costanza

A Death in Custody: Massachusetts DOC Wracked by Scandal

Loaded on Nov. 15, 2004 by Peter Costanza published in Prison Legal News November, 2004, page 1

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Prison/Jail Murders, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Prisoner Privileges, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Premises Liability, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Guard Unions. Location: Massachusetts.

On August 23, 2003, the 26 men in Unit J-1 at SBCC, a "supermax" prison in Shirley, Massachusetts, were finishing lunch. It was just before noon. There was one guard in the unit, a prison guard named David Lonergan. Two guards were assigned to J-1 on that shift, but the ...