A FEDERAL JUDGE on Monday rejected demands by lawyers for immigration detainees at the Bristol County Jail to broaden a scheduled deposition of Sheriff Thomas Hodgson to include the circumstances […]
Criminal Justice
Posted inCriminal Justice
Mici: No need to release inmates due to COVID-19
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION’S top prison official told a state judge on Wednesday that she is satisfied with the way the system is responding to COVID-19 cases and sees no need […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Prisoners testify about COVID-19 dangers
AS THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION begins ramping up COVID-19 testing at state prisons, prisoners from three facilities testified before a Superior Court judge about conditions at their institutions. The lawsuit, which […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Judge seeks COVID-19 test data on ICE detainees
US DISTRICT COURT Judge William Young is ordering the Bristol County sheriff’s office to begin submitting reports on the number of immigration detainees in its custody who have been tested […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Do civil commitments make sense in a pandemic?
IT’S HAMPDEN COUNTY Sheriff Nick Cocchi versus Prisoners’ Legal Services, round two, this time with a global pandemic thrown in. The sheriff and the legal services group have long been battling […]
Posted inThe Download
Do civil commitments make sense in a pandemic?
It’s Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi versus Prisoners’ Legal Services, round two, this time with a global pandemic thrown in. The sheriff and the legal services group have long been […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Lawsuit seeks release of sentenced prisoners during coronavirus
A NEW CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT filed in the state’s highest court by advocates aims to release sentenced and civilly committed prisoners to stem the spread of coronavirus in prisons. Prisoners’ […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Judge’s attorney accuses Lelling of political bias
THE ATTORNEY REPRESENTING a judge charged with helping an undocumented immigrant evade federal immigration officials at her court is accusing US Attorney Andrew Lelling of political bias through his public […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Rollins: Lock him up
WHETHER YOU CALL IT a Nixon-goes-to-China moment or just an example of the shades of grey that color lots of criminal justice issues, Rachael Rollins is making news in a surprising […]
Posted inThe Download
Rollins: Lock him up
Whether you call it a Nixon-goes-to-China moment or just an example of the shades of grey that color lots of criminal justice issues, Rachael Rollins is making news in a […]
Posted inHealth Care
Virus notes: Trump slams state mutineers
PRESIDENT TRUMP on Tuesday suggested Gov. Charlie Baker and a host of governors from nearby states were mutineers for joining together to plan for the reopening of their economies after […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Coronavirus infection in state prisons more than two times statewide rate
THE CORONAVIRUS INFECTION rate among inmates in the state prison is more than two times than the statewide rate, according to new figures from the Department of Correction. Prisoners’ Legal Services sent out an […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Virus notes: Healey to probe Holyoke vets home outbreak
ATTORNEY GENERAL Maura Healey will launch her own probe into what went wrong at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, separate from an investigation being conducted by an attorney recruited by Gov. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
2 staffers test positive for Covid-19, says sheriff’s office
TWO STAFF MEMBERS from the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office have tested positive for COVID-19 as a federal judge continued to release more immigrant detainees from the Bristol House of Correction […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Immigrant detainees on hunger strike in RI
OVER 60 IMMIGRANT detainees at a federal detention center in Rhode Island are on their fourth day of a hunger strike, demanding to be released due to concerns over the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC orders release of most defendants awaiting trial
THE STATE’S HIGHEST COURT Friday ordered nearly all people held in jails awaiting trial be released on their own recognizance because of the threat of COVID-19 infection. The unanimous opinion […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Health Care
Judge starts releasing ICE detainees during coronavirus spread concerns
A FEDERAL JUDGE on Friday ordered the release of three immigrant detainees being held by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Bristol County House of Correction to reduce the potential for the spread […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC rules against district court judge in indigent defense case
THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT ruled that a Springfield judge overstepped his authority in ordering the overburdened local public defenders’ office to take on more cases than the office said it […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Judge asks for list of ICE detainees for potential release
A FEDERAL JUDGE stopped short of ordering the release of federal immigration detainees being held in the Bristol County House of Correction, but he urged officials not to send new […]
Posted inOpinion
For those in jail, COVID-19 could be death sentence
LEGAL GROUPS, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, have made an urgent plea to the state’s highest court. “There are about 16,500 human beings in our prisons and […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
COVID-19 cases at Bridgewater prison facility up to 10
THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT of Correction says eight prisoners, one staff member, and one medical provider have tested positive for coronavirus – all of them at the Massachusetts Treatment Center in […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
As COVID-19 hits prisons, worry spreads
WITH THREE PRISONERS and one corrections officer diagnosed with the coronavirus at the Massachusetts Treatment Center in Bridgewater, the Department of Correction has developed a response plan for containment of […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Health Care
Detainees at jail say they fear COVID-19 outbreak
IMMIGRANT DETAINEES being held by the federal government at the Bristol County House of Correction say they are packed so close together that an outbreak of COVID-19 would spread rapidly […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Only 6 guards affected by ‘unauthorized memo’
AN UNAUTHORIZED and now rescinded memo initiating a moratorium on suspensions and disciplinary hearings for correction officers to ease staffing concerns during the current coronavirus crisis would have only affected […]
