Incarcerated people and advocates have struggled for years against solitary confinement but correctional systems often undermine reform with impunity. PLS Attorney Bonnie Tenneriello gives a firsthand account of the fight for change in Boston Review. www.bostonreview.net/articles/pri...

Prison Reform’s Shell Game

Hard-won legislation meant to limit or end solitary confinement has run up against the power of correctional systems to neutralize change.

bostonreview.net

Rolando Figueredo died at 38, a year before his release. His family says he asked for antibiotics for months and got Tylenol, then ear drops. 

He entered prison with a 2-year sentence. His family says medical neglect turned it into a death sentence

The cresting pressure in Figueredo’s head, the family later learned from doctors at UMass Memorial Medical Center, was his brain and spinal cord starting to swell.

masslive.com

MA caps prison and jail temps at 78 degrees, but only from Sept through June. In summer, there's no limit. We've never heard of a facility being sanctioned for failing to cool the people inside.

As Massachusetts prisons heat up, lawmakers sit on extreme heat regulations - The New Bedford Light

Inmates and guards at New Bedford’s Ash Street jail swelter in summer heat waves, with no end in sight.

newbedfordlight.org

A state commission found racial disparities in MA prisons — in prison jobs, discipline, and program access. DOC doesn't collect enough data to fix it. We're backing S.1725 to change that.

Gaskin: Mass. must tackle racism inside prison system

If we are spending that much money to incarcerate people, we should also be serious about whether the system prepares them to return home successfully.

bostonherald.com

A Globe op-ed, written from inside an MA prison, captures the hopelessness of a sentence with no path forward. That despair is what a system produces — and last year it contributed to a wave of suicides.

When a life sentence is a death sentence - The Boston Globe

For those with few prospects of leaving prison, the sense of hopelessness and despair can be overwhelming. I know, because I’m one of them.

bostonglobe.com

In December, Shacoby Kenny was killed during an altercation with corrections officers at the South Bay House of Correction. This week, the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed that the cause of death was homicide.

Medical examiner rules 2025 South Bay in-custody death a homicide - The Boston Globe

Shacoby Kenny, a 32-year-old with a history of mental health problems, died last year following a fight with corrections staff.

bostonglobe.com

Chris Tansey, a teacher from Harwich, is walking from Provincetown to Plymouth to protest conditions for more than 500 detained immigrants at the Plymouth.

An 80-Mile Walk to Protest Conditions for Detainees - The Provincetown Independent

PROVINCETOWN — Chris Tansey, a teacher from Harwich, has two aims this summer: starting his new radio show on WOMR and walking from Provincetown to Plymouth to protest conditions for […]

provincetownindependent.org

For the Marshall Project, Destry McKinney wrote about how the metal mirrors that AL prisons use distort people's faces. When a glass one suddenly appeared, he truly saw himself for the first time in 26 years.

The Magic of Having a Glass Mirror in Prison

The metal mirrors that Alabama prisons use distort our faces. When a glass one suddenly appeared, I truly saw myself for the first time in 26 years.

themarshallproject.org

Four officers at Souza-Baranowski have been indicted for allegedly assaulting three incarcerated men after a 2024 attack on staff. The DOC says this does not reflect its standards and values. But it keeps happening, and it keeps happening at the same facility. www.masslive.com/centralmass/...

Mass. corrections officers accused of assaulting incarcerated men after attack on colleagues

The officers worked at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, where five of their colleagues were injured in an attack in September 2024.

masslive.com

Rally at Plymouth County Correctional Facility, Friday July 25, 2:00 to 3:30 PM, 26 Long Pond Rd. It is the only MA facility with an ICE agreement, and our clients inside describe long waits for care, untreated infections, and being told there is no funding to help.

Sheriff McDonald says critics of his Plymouth County jail are lying. He also says he does not have to prove it. The ACLU is in court today for records on detainee medical care. A win for him would shield any official with a federal contract from public scrutiny. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/07/m...

This Massachusetts sheriff says his contract with ICE overrides state law - The Boston Globe

The Plymouth County jail houses more than 500 immigration detainees. Why can’t we find out what kind of medical care they’re getting?

bostonglobe.com

Advocates had to sue just to get voting data the state was already required to release. Fewer than 5% of eligible incarcerated voters cast a ballot in 2024. A primary is coming in September 2026. Broad civic engagement benefits everyone. www.lowellsun.com/2026/06/21/e...

Editorial: State can’t help but better ‘abysmal’ jail voting numbers

Several organizations pledged to protect inmates’ rights, including Lawyers for Civil Rights and the Campaign Legal Center, have weighed in on the release of the long-awaited report on inmates’…

lowellsun.com

PLS challenges the carceral system in a variety of ways and pro bono partnerships help make this work possible while also providing valuable experience for attorneys: app.joinpaladin.com/!/massprobon...

Paladin | Pro Bono Software for the Legal Industry

Paladin is the go-to platform for connecting the pro bono community and empowering legal teams to do more pro bono, more efficiently.

app.joinpaladin.com

This survey explores how formerly incarcerated individuals with disabilities or chronic health conditions experience healthcare after release. The results may help improve how healthcare systems support people with disabilities after incarceration: linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%...

James Ware was granted medical parole on January 23. He died April 2nd, still incarcerated, at Lemuel Shattuck Hospital Correctional Unit. Mr. Ware’s death was not an accident. It was a policy failure: www.masslive.com/boston/2026/...

Inmate approved for parole dies in Massachusetts prison

masslive.com

Jordan Gomes waited years to get into an alternatives-to-violence program at MCI-Shirley. He was ultimately told it would never happen, not because of anything he did wrong, but because of the length of his sentence. His story is not unique: binj.news/2026/04/08/t...

The Waiting Game: Thousands Of Mass Prisoners Are Stuck On Education Waitlists

With waitlists nearly triple the size of current enrollment, prisoner rights advocates say the DOC prioritizes punishment over preparation

binj.news

As we celebrate Juneteenth, remember that slavery continues by another name: the 13th Amendment allows forced labor as punishment for crime. In MA and across the U.S., incarcerated people work for pennies or nothing, lack labor protections, and can be punished for refusing.

A broad coalition is urging the Legislature to pass reforms that would expand access to medical parole, strengthen family connections, improve mental health care behind bars, protect survivors of violence, invest in young people, and pause prison expansion. Learn more: plsma.org/takeaction

From 2018 to 2025, 579 people applied for medical parole in Massachusetts. Only 113 were granted. A bill in Senate Ways and Means would expedite the process and require cognitive screening for older people in custody. No one should die shackled to a bed. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/06/15/o...

Compassion for dying prisoners is also a bargain - The Boston Globe

Expediting medical parole simply the right thing to do.

bostonglobe.com

Last week, dozens of families testified at a DOC public hearing about what prison visitation restrictions have cost them. Visits are down 66% since 2017. A bill before Ways and Means would take the opposite approach. www.masslive.com/news/2026/06...

Diabetes management in MA prisons is outdated and dangerous. People are denied glucose monitors and are punished when they try to protect their own health. Poor policies and for-profit care cause preventable harm that follows people well after release. www.wbur.org/news/2026/06...

'Double punishment': Mass. inmates and physicians fight for better diabetes care in prisons, jails

Physicians and former prisoners want inmates to have access to continuous glucose monitors, insulin pumps and better diabetes education while incarcerated.

wbur.org

New photos show inside MA's Behavioral Assessment Units, where half of last year's prison suicides occurred. People are held up to 21 hours a day, one hour short of the state's definition of solitary. A 2018 law was supposed to end this. We're fighting it in court. www.masslive.com/news/2026/06...

Photos reveal stark isolation inside Mass. prison units tied to suicides: ‘God help me’

Editor’s note: This article contains photographs of a prison housing unit where deaths have occurred.

masslive.com

6 people died by suicide in MA state prisons last year. An independent review found systemic failures at every level of care in the units where these deaths occurred. To address poor conditions inside, a coalition is urging the Legislature to pass a package of reforms: plsma.org/takeaction

After serving 24 years in MA DOC, Artem was supposed to return home to his family in Springfield. Instead, ICE was waiting to detain him the moment he walked free. In this clip, Artem describes the horrors of immigration detention and ICE's complete disregard for his safety.

Window Into Solitary is an exhibition with portraits of 17 people who have experienced long-term solitary confinement. On June 13th at 6:00 PM, join us for the opening reception, panel discussion, and music at Spencer Lofts Gallery on 60 Dudley St, Chelsea, Mass. No registration necessary.

People are dying in Massachusetts prisons and jails at an alarming rate, reflecting a system in crisis. “Death Under Watch” is an ongoing series by MassLive and The Springfield Republican investigating these deaths. You can find all of the stories in the series here: www.masslive.com/news/2026/04...

Death Under Watch

A MassLive and Springfield Republican investigation

masslive.com

In 2025, six people died by suicide in Massachusetts state prisons. An independent review found systemic failures at every level of care in the units where these deaths occurred. 111 organizations are demanding the legislature act. Learn more and make your voice heard: plsma.org/takeaction

This week, Senator Jehlen spoke before the legislature about the need to prevent deaths in our prisons by improving the medical parole process. 11 people who could've been released died "expected" deaths last year alone. Support medical parole and other carceral reforms here: plsma.org/takeaction

111 organizations are demanding the legislature invest in people, not in costly systems of incarceration. Learn more and act now: plsma.org/takeaction

Incarcerated people & their allies have struggled for years against solitary confinement but correctional systems often undermine reform with impunity. PLS Attorney Bonnie Tenneriello gives a firsthand account of the fight for change in Boston Review. www.bostonreview.net/articles/pri...

Prison Reform’s Shell Game

Hard-won legislation meant to limit or end solitary confinement has run up against the power of correctional systems to neutralize change.

bostonreview.net