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Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign Files Suit Seeking to Sever University’s Financial Ties With Prison Industrial Complex

Article • August 1, 2020 • from PLN August, 2020

Filed under: Private Prisons

Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign Files Suit Seeking to Sever University’s Financial Ties With Prison Industrial Complex by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney On February 25, 2020, student members of the Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign (HPDC) filed suit in the Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County, Massachusetts, seeking to force the …

Prison Postcards: A Plea from Kentucky and Dispatches from Texas and Massachusetts

Article • July 1, 2020 • from PLN July, 2020

Filed under: Failure to Treat, COVID-19, Lockdowns

Prison Postcards: A Plea from Kentucky and Dispatches from Texas and Massachusetts by Ken Silverstein by Ken Silverstein Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic erupted, prisoners, their families and advocates have braced for major outbreaks at America’s prisons and jails. It’s still not clear just how bad prisoners are going to …

High School Journalists Garner National Attention by Exposing School’s Use of Prisoner Labor

Article • July 1, 2020 • from PLN July, 2020

Filed under: Prison Labor

High School Journalists Garner National Attention by Exposing School’s Use of Prisoner Labor by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney Amherst-Pelham Regional High School (APRHS) English teacher Sara Barber-Just was rubbing sleep from her eyes at 5:30 a.m. while reading the June 28, 2019, online edition of The New York Times. …

Navedo v. City of Springfield, MA, Complaint, Excessive Force on Minor, 2020

Brief • June 16, 2020

Filed under: Excessive Force, Excessive Force (Police)

Navedo v. City of Springfield, MA, Complaint, Excessive Force on Minor, 2020 COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS SUPERIOR COURT DEPARTMENT OF THE TRIAL COURT CIVIL ACTION NO.: HAMPDEN, SS ) ) ) ) ) LISANDRA NAVEDO, as parent of EDGAR CORONA, Plaintiffs, V. CITY OF SPRINGFIELD, LAWRENCE PIETRUCCI and OTILIO ALVARADO, Defendants. …

Large Scale Releases and Public Safety

Article • June 1, 2020 • from PLN June, 2020

Filed under: COVID-19, Compassionate Release

Large Scale Releases and Public Safety by Peter Wagner Can governments safely release hundreds or thousands of people from prison? We offer 14 historical examples to show that, in fact, they already have. by Peter Wagner, Prison Policy Initiative https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2020/04/09/large-scale-releases/ To protect the American public from COVID-19, schools have closed, …

Audit: Massachusetts Department of Corrections Failed to Provide Timely Health Care or Reentry Services

Article • June 1, 2020 • from PLN June, 2020

Filed under: Release and Reentry, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Audit: Massachusetts Department of Corrections Failed to Provide Timely Health Care or Reentry Services by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney An audit of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections (MDOC) released January 9, 2020, found that the agency was failing to provide prisoners with timely health care and proper reentry services, …

Massachusetts Supreme Court Orders DOC to Free Terminally Ill Prisoners After DOJ Investigates Mistreatment

Article • April 1, 2020 • from PLN April, 2020

Filed under: Parole, Habeas Corpus, Pardons/Clemency

Massachusetts Supreme Court Orders DOC to Free Terminally Ill Prisoners After DOJ Investigates Mistreatment by Bill Barton by Bill Barton On January 28, 2020, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) voided several regulations used by the state Department of Correction (DOC) to justify denying 29 petitions by prisoners for medical …

Massachusetts Prison Retaliates Against Prisoners for Assault on Guards; Court Grants Preliminary Injunction in Class Action

Article • April 1, 2020 • from PLN April, 2020

Filed under: Lockdowns, Preliminary Injunctions/TRO's, Class Certification, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Assaults on Staff, Guard Unions

Massachusetts Prison Retaliates Against Prisoners for Assault on Guards; Court Grants Preliminary Injunction in Class Action by Kevin Bliss by Kevin Bliss After January 10, 2020, prisoner riot left three guards injured at Massachusetts’ Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center (SBCC), prisoners and their loved ones said prisoners were subjected to retaliation, losing …

Larocque et al. v. Turco et al., MA, order, prisoners' access to attorneys, legal materials, 2020

Brief • February 28, 2020

Filed under: Showers, Lockdowns, Attorney Client, Dogs, Legal Property, Legal Materials, Mail, Legal Mail, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Sixth Amendment

Larocque et al. v. Turco et al., MA, order, prisoners' access to attorneys, legal materials, 2020

Larocque v. Turco, MA, Complaint, Denial of Right to Counsel, 2020

Brief • January 31, 2020

Filed under: Counsel - Right to, Right to Counsel

Larocque v. Turco, MA, Complaint, Denial of Right to Counsel, 2020 COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS SUPERIOR COURT DEPT. SUFFOLK, ss. oo:;,~N.o CARL LAROCQUE, ROBERT SILVAPRENTICE, T AMIK KIRKLAND, MASSACHUSETTS ASSOCIATIO OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LA WYERS, and COMMITTEE for PUBLIC COUNSEL SERVICES, Plaintiffs, V. THOMAS TURCO, Secretary of the Executive Office of …

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office of the State Auditor, 2020

Publication • January 9, 2020

Filed under: Medical, Medication, Release and Reentry, Mental Health

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office of the State Auditor, 2020 Official Audit Report – Issued January 9, 2020 Massachusetts Department of Correction For the period July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2018 State House Room 230  Boston, MA 02133  auditor@sao.state.ma.us  www.mass.gov/auditor January 9, 2020 Ms. Carol Mici, Commissioner …

Award in Massachusetts Prisoner’s ADA Case Includes Over $410,000 in Attorney Fees, Costs

Article • September 9, 2019 • from PLN September, 2019

Filed under: Attorney Fee Awards, Americans with Disabilities Act

Award in Massachusetts Prisoner’s ADA Case Includes Over $410,000 in Attorney Fees, Costs by David M. Reutter by David M. Reutter Following a March 10, 2017 jury award totaling $250,000, a Massachusetts federal district court awarded $410,116.87 in attorney fees and costs in a prisoner’s lawsuit raising Americans with Disabilities …

Massachusetts Prisoners and Visitors Challenge Restrictive Visitation Rules

Article • September 8, 2019 • from PLN September, 2019

Filed under: Visiting

Massachusetts Prisoners and Visitors Challenge Restrictive Visitation Rules by Bill Barton by Bill Barton  More restrictive regulations for visits in Massachusetts prisons – originally adopted in March 2018 and later amended effective March 1, 2019 – have spurred at least five lawsuits against the state’s Department of Correction (DOC) by …

The Sentencing Project, Campaign to End Life Imprisonment - Women and Girls Serving Life Sentences, 2019

Publication • June 1, 2019

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Statistics/Trends, Parole, Mental Health, Suicides, Juveniles

The Sentencing Project, Campaign to End Life Imprisonment - Women and Girls Serving Life Sentences, 2019 CAMPAIGN TO END LIFE IMPRISONMENT WOMEN AND GIRLS SERVING LIFE SENTENCES Nationwide one of every 15 women in prison — nearly 7,000 women — is serving a life or virtual life sentence.1 One-third of …

First Circuit: Denial of Humira Psoriasis Treatment Not Deliberately Indifferent

Article • April 22, 2019

Filed under: Medical, Medication, Skin, Failure to Treat

First Circuit: Denial of Humira Psoriasis Treatment Not Deliberately Indifferent by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that a lower court properly granted summary judgment to a Massachusetts prison doctor who refused to prescribe Humira to treat a pretrial detainee’s …

Lawsuit Challenging Phone Kickbacks at Massachusetts Jail Survives Motion to Dismiss

Article • April 2, 2019 • from PLN April, 2019

Filed under: Telephone Rates

Lawsuit Challenging Phone Kickbacks at Massachusetts Jail Survives Motion to Dismiss by In December 2018, a Massachusetts federal district court refused to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the cost of phone calls made by prisoners at the Bristol County House of Correction (BCHC). [See: PLN, Sept. 2018, p.36]. Before the court …

Why We Need More Journalism Courses Taught in Prison

Article • February 19, 2019

Filed under: Education, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Publications/Books, First Amendment, First Amendment, rights

Why We Need More Journalism Courses Taught in Prison by Shaheen Pasha For those incarcerated, the study of journalism can aid rehabilitation by providing tangible skills and a chance to increase understanding of prisoners’ experiences by Shaheen Pasha, Nieman Reports John J. Lennon, also known as Inmate # 04A0823, sits …

Massachusetts DOC commissions 2017

Kickback publication • January 28, 2019

Filed under: Telephones

Massachusetts DOC commissions 2017 <The Commonwea(th of'M.assachusetts <F,xJcutive Office of<Pu6uc Safety e1, Security CHARLES D. BAKER Governor <Department of Correction 50 :Map{e Street, Suite 3 :Milforc{, :M}l 01757 <Te{: (508)422-3300 www.mass.gov/aoc CAROL A. MIC! Acting Co1n1nissioner JOHN A. O'MALLEY Chief of Staff KARYN E. POLITO Lieutenant Gauernor THOMAS A. TURCO, …

Harvard Student Group Advocates for Prison Education, Reform

Article • January 9, 2019 • from PLN January, 2019

Filed under: Advocacy, Prison Reform, Criminal justice system reform

Harvard Student Group Advocates for Prison Education, Reform by Monte McCoin by Monte McCoin The Harvard Organization for Prison Education and Advocacy, a student-led group known as HOPE, was established in the 1950s as part of Harvard University’s Phillips Brooks House Association. Since its inception the organization has provided tutoring …

Massachusetts DOC - Securus rates 2018-2023

Kickback publication • December 20, 2018

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

Massachusetts DOC - Securus rates 2018-2023 Dennis J. Reinhold Senior Vice President and General Counsel March 1, 2018 Via Email ' Nilsa Morales Director of Fiscal Affairs Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security 1 Ashburton Place - Room 213 3 Boston, Massachusetts 02108 Re: Securus Technologies Dear Ms. …