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 […]
criminal justice
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 inUncategorized
Judge indicates he plans to release ICE detainees
US DISTRICT COURT JUDGE William Young said on Thursday that he is considering releasing immigrants being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Bristol County jail to reduce the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Judge asks for list of ICE detainees for potential release
AÂ 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 […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Corrections commissioner disavows internal memo
THE TOP OFFICIAL at the Department of Correction on Wednesday rescinded an internal memo issued earlier this week by one of her top deputies that would have initiated a moratorium […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Virus notes: Discrimination warning issued
SUFFOLK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEYÂ Rachael Rollins said she has received no official complaints about discrimination against Asian-Americans in connection with the coronavirus, but representatives of the community say incidents are occurring […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Court: State not liable for assault at DYS facility
A STATE APPEALS COURT agreed to dismiss a case against the state’s Department of Youth Services for an assault that occurred at a now-shuttered facility for youth in state custody, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Task force punts on raising the age of juvenile offenders
A STATE TASK FORCE decided against taking a position on the issue of whether or not to raise the age of jurisdiction for the juvenile justice system, but is urging wider adoption of programs […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Public safety secretary confirms MCI-Framingham to close
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S public safety secretary confirmed on Tuesday that MCI-Framingham, the oldest women’s penitentiary in the country, will be shuttered and prisoners eventually relocated to the Bay State Correctional […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
16 Souza prisoners charged in attack on guards
WORCESTER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY Joseph Early Jr. on Thursday charged 16 prisoners at the state’s maximum-security prison in connection with a violent January 10 attack on four correctional officers. According to video of the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
What you need to know about new hands-free driving law
IT’S TIME TO stop reading those emails while traffic is crawling on the Southeast Expressway. Massachusetts’s ban on handheld cellphone use while driving goes into effect Sunday. Gov. Charlie Baker […]
Posted inUncategorized
DOC says prisoner suing agency assaulted officers
THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION on Wednesday tried to turn the tables on a prisoner who alleged the agency violated his civil rights and assaulted him by accusing the inmate […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Lowell rep arrested for misusing $70,000 in campaign funds
STATE REP. DAVID NANGLE, a Lowell Democrat and member of the Legislature’s Ethics Committee, was arrested Tuesday and charged with using his campaign account to pay for more than $70,000 […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Prison superintendent cites protocols for actions
CITING PUBLIC AND CONFIDENTIAL Department of Correction protocols, the superintendent of the state’s maximum security prison said in a court hearing on Thursday that he had the authority to cut […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
2 Walsh aides cleared of federal charges
When two Boston City Hall aides were found guilty on federal charges for pressuring officials at the Boston Calling music festival to hire union labor, critics pointed to the trial […]
Posted inThe Download
2 Walsh aides cleared of federal charges
When two Boston City Hall aides were found guilty on federal charges for pressuring officials at the Boston Calling music festival to hire union labor, critics pointed to the trial […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Attorneys, prisoners say limits still being imposed at Souza-Baranowksi
ATTORNEYS REPRESENTING INMATES at the maximum security state prison in Shirley are disputing claims by prison officials that restrictions on attorney visits and prisoner access to legal documents following a January disturbance at […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Beacon Hill notes: Inmate calls for free
A BILL THAT WOULD ALLOW inmates at state and county correctional facilities to make phone calls for free was endorsed unanimously on Tuesday by the Legislature’s Public Safety and Homeland […]
