Shirley prison to get influx -- State Transportation

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Subject: Shirley prison to get influx

Author:
CO

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Date Posted: 21:43:52 04/15/09 Wed

Shirley prison to get influx

By Lisa Redmond and Jack Minch
Lowell Sun

"We think this is the most foolish plan ever come up with," Kenneway said. "It's going to get somebody hurt or killed, either staff or inmates."
MASSACHUSETTS � By June, most of the state's most dangerous criminals will be housed at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley.

And although Shirley officials contacted yesterday were unaware of the move, most were cautiously optimistic that their community will be safe.

"I think we have to do our business and feel we're safe," said interim Superintendent of Schools Malcolm "Mac" Reid, who had not heard of the state's plans before yesterday.

In a March 20 letter obtained by The Sun, Harold Clarke, commissioner of the Department of Corrections, writes to inmates all over the state giving them an update on the MCI-Cedar Junction "mission change."

Under the plan, MCI-Cedar Junction in Walpole will become the only male "reception center" where new inmates are sent for classification within the state prison system.

Previously, classification was done at MCI-Concord, but by shifting that responsibility to Walpole, the prison in Concord will become medium security.

The change is because Cedar Junction's layout lends itself more to an inmate entry center than to a maximum-security facility, officials have said. Some units, including the new reception center and the disciplinary unit, will remain maximum security, but the prison will become a medium-security facility.

"As a result, inmates currently housed at MCI-Cedar Junction will be transferred to the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, which will become the primary maximum security facility in Massachusetts," Clarke wrote.

The DOC estimates about half of Cedar Junction's 789 prisoners will be transferred to Shirley by June.

The commissioner said the change will allow officials to better utilize resources. But to accommodate the change, about 450 cells at Souza-Baranowski have been double-bunked to make room for the additional Walpole prisoners.

Double-bunking at a maximum-security correctional facility "is utilized routinely in other states as well as the Federal Bureau of Prisons," Clarke wrote.

But the practice has already been blamed for one riot at Souza-Baranowski, and a union leader says inmates are threatening more. Last month, corrections officers were forced to use tear gas on inmates who rioted to protest the installation of bunk beds in cells. As inmates returned from their afternoon meal, they entered a cell block and began to destroy items and throw objects. Officers restored order by using tear gas. Prison officials said about seven prisoners were involved. One officer was injured.

"The overcrowding situation has left the department no choice," DOC spokeswoman Diane Wiffin said. "There are no plans for new construction."

Clarke and his senior staff have been meeting with the Massachusetts Correctional Officers Federated Union since mid-September, she said.

The union opposes the shift and double-bunking, said Steve Kenneway, the union's president.

"We think this is the most foolish plan ever come up with," Kenneway said. "It's going to get somebody hurt or killed, either staff or inmates."

The union wants maximum-security prisoners at least confined to their cell blocks to minimize danger, he said.

Corrections officers are already hearing from inmates that they plan to take over the facility and kill corrections officers and cell mates, Kenneway said.

Leslie Walker, executive director at the inmate advocacy group Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services, agrees the new arrangement is dangerous.

Inmates the DOC has already determined the most dangerous will be locked in their cells up to 19 hours a day, Walker said.

Shirley selectmen were briefed last year on the double-bunking issue, but Selectman Leonard "Chip" Guercio learned of the new plans from The Sun yesterday.

"Pretty much, the understanding was there was not enough prison space overall in the commonwealth," he said. "This, overall, ties into that, I think."

The prison has not been a significant security risk for residents, but Guercio said selectmen want reassurances that there are sufficient safety measures inside the prison after the change.

The town contracts emergency services, such as first-responder ambulance and fire care, so there are always safety concerns about going inside, he said.

Selectmen Chairman Enrico Cappucci, a former police chief in town, said he is more worried about escapes from the minimum-security prison in Shirley because it does not have fences.

The Lura A. White Elementary School is close to Souza-Baranowski, but Reid, the schools superintendent, said he is not concerned about the change in prison population.

The DOC is expected take appropriate precautions to make sure there are no escapes, Reid said.

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