Prison staff may be tied to threats Overtime scheme could be a motive

Prison staff may be tied to threats
Overtime scheme could be a motive

By Maria Cramer and David Abel
Globe Staff / May 11, 2011

State Police and Hampden County authorities are investigating whether state prison employees made anonymous phone calls, threatening to kill an escaped inmate being held at a Springfield hospital, possibly as part of a scheme to generate more overtime opportunities, officials said yesterday.

A spokesman for the Department of Correction confirmed that two staff members have been suspended as authorities investigate whether the two made the calls to murder suspect Tamik Kirkland while he was in Baystate Medical Center.

Several law enforcement officials said authorities are examining whether the Correction Department employees allegedly made the phone calls so officials would order more overtime shifts to guard a prisoner whose life was in danger.

FULL STORY HERE
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/05/11/prison_staff_focus_of_investigation_into_threats_against_escaped_inmate/?p1=News_links

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Drug smuggling charge against Mass. jail officer

Drug smuggling charge against Mass. jail officer

By Associated Press  |   Monday, April 18, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage

BOSTON - A Massachusetts corrections officer has been arrested on allegations that he attempted to smuggle heroin to sell to inmates at a medium-security prison near Boston.

Ronald McGinn Jr. of Bridgewater was charged Monday with possession of heroin with intent to distribute at MCI-Norfolk.

U.S. District Attorney Carmen Ortiz says the 40-year-old sent text messages and discussed with an undercover FBI agent the amounts he would smuggle into the prison and fees he would charge to do so. He was arrested Monday afternoon in possession of 28 grams of heroin.

The investigation began after a Massachusetts Department of Corrections officer told the FBI that someone was smuggling contraband to the facility about 25 miles southwest of Boston.

It was not immediately clear if McGinn has legal representation. He faces up to 20 years in prison on conviction.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1331722

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Rape suspect ordered to stay away from children

Rape suspect ordered to stay away from children

By Laurel J. Sweet  |   Wednesday, April 13, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage

A Dorchester man was held on $10,000 cash bail yesterday and ordered to stay away from children after pleading not guilty to eight counts of rape of a child.

The charges involve a 13-year-old girl who prosecutors said was lured to his home for play dates with the suspect’s son. Between November and December, Edgar Soares, 33, “invited the victim over to play with his 8-year-old son. When she arrived, (Soares) would take her cell phone and sexually assault her,” said Jake Wark, spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley.

Prosecutors sought to hold Soares on $75,000 cash bail, Wark said.

A law enforcement source said Soares works for the Department of Correction. Soares’ attorney, Jonathan Scott Lauer, referred questions to DOC, which was not able to confirm his employment as of last night.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1330361

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Jail chaplain pleads not guilty to smuggling

Jail chaplain pleads not guilty to smuggling

By Associated Press  |   Thursday, April 7, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage

MEDFORD -- A Roman Catholic deacon and chaplain at a jail accused of smuggling drugs and other contraband to inmates told authorities he did so because he was being blackmailed.

According to court documents, William Emerson, deacon at St. William Church in Tewksbury, told investigators he smuggled drugs into jails in Billerica and Cambridge because two pretrial detainees threatened to tell authorities he had pornography on his home computer.

A spokeswoman for the Middlesex district attorney tells The Sun of Lowell that investigators checked Emerson’s computer and the pornography was legal.

Emerson pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to delivering an article to a prisoner and was released on personal recognizance. He is due back in court May 5 to face three counts of delivering drugs to prisoners.

Emerson and his lawyer declined comment.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1329031

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Jury finds former guard, superintendent violated female prisoner's rights

Jury finds former guard, superintendent violated female prisoner's rights

Posted by Milton Valencia April 6, 2011 05:36 PM
By Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff

A federal jury today found a former state correction officer violated a former inmate's civil rights by using his position of power to have sex with the woman while she was incarcerated at the South Middlesex Correctional Center in Framingham.

Kelly A. Ryan, the superintendent of the facility, was also found liable for a violation of the woman’s civil rights.

The jury of 10 women awarded the former inmate, Christina Chao, 31, a total of $73,700 in damages.

FULL STORY HERE
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2011/04/jury_finds_form.html?p1=News_links

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Guard accused of having sex with inmates - 2005

Guard accused of having sex with inmates
By Norman Miller / Daily News Staff
Tuesday, March 29, 2005

FRAMINGHAM -- A prison guard accused of having sex with two female inmates at a minimum security institute in Framingham now faces charges, jail time and fines for the incidents.

Moises Ballista, 28, of Springfield was indicted on six counts of having sexual relations with an inmate, said Middlesex district attorney's office spokeswoman Melissa Sherman yesterday.

The incidents are alleged to have occurred on various dates in 2003 and 2004 at the South Middlesex Correctional Center, a pre-release minimum security institute located next to MCI-Framingham.

Department of Correction spokeswoman Diane Wiffin said the incident is under investigation.

"We take the allegations very seriously," said Wiffin. "It's an abuse of the power and authority invested in us as law enforcement officials."

Ballista has been "detached," or suspended, with pay since the allegations came to light in May, 2004, Wiffin said.

Sherman said the DOC discovered the "inappropriate sexual relations" with the two inmates and began an internal investigation.

The Middlesex district attorney's office was informed of the incidents in September 2004. After an investigation, Ballista was indicted on Friday, Sherman said.

The names and the ages of the victims were not released. It is not known if the women are still incarcerated.

It is a crime in Massachusetts for a prison guard to have sex with inmates.

Ballista faces up to five years in state prison for each count if he is convicted and/or a $10,000 fine.

Wiffin said she could not say how long Ballista has worked as a correction officer, or at what other facilities he has worked, citing personnel privacy.

Ballista could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The DOC, Wiffin said, investigates all such incidents completely.

"This is serious misconduct, and we take it seriously," she said.

Ballista is scheduled to be arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court in Cambridge on April 11.

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com

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Trial opens for former correction officer

Trial opens for former correction officer
By Milton J. Valencia
Globe Staff / March 23, 2011


Moises Ballista, a former correction officer at the South Middlesex Correctional Center in Framingham, routinely had sexual relations with female inmates at the minimum-security, prerelease center for women. He acknowledged the actions in federal court yesterday.

Five years ago, he was sentenced to nine months in a county jail for violating state laws prohibiting relations between inmates and correctional officers, even when the sex is consensual.

But now a federal jury — made up of 10 women — will decide whether Ballista and his supervisors at the state Department of Correction violated the civil rights of one of the inmates, a case that could end in a damage award. The ruling could also put the same responsibility on state supervisors as on Ballista.

The woman, Christina Chao, 31, alleges that Ballista, capitalizing on his role as an officer, used his power to pressure her into between 50 and 100 sexual acts when she was an inmate eight years ago. She also asserts state officials failed to intervene, despite a history of similar accusations against Ballista.

FOR THE FULL STORY
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/03/23/trial_opens_for_former_correction_officer/

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Prison reform is needed now – not later

Opinion

Prison reform is needed now – not later
http://bostonbanner.com/Opinion58-2010-11-04
Pastor W. E. Dickerson II, Rev. Emanuel Hutcherson and Minister Don Muhammad

Last month our community learned about the resignation of the Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC) Commissioner Harold Clarke. It is very unfortunate that Clarke is leaving our state at a time when leadership within the DOC is so greatly needed.

Clarke came to our state with what seemed to be the mindset of a reformer. At least six correction officers were fired due to unprofessional conduct and some forms of abuse. In addition, we saw the first meaningful community meetings take place behind the walls at MCI Old Colony State Prison. Moreover, under Clarke’s leadership, more educational programs such as with UMass Boston were being developed, including the Video Project “Voices From Behind the Walls” which was formed by inmates.

It is also unfortunate that he left on the eve of the gubernatorial election. The communities of color need prison reform more now than ever. While we do respect every man’s decision, we think the timing of his resignation was a poor choice.

As clergy we are very cognizant of the high rate of incarceration among men of color and in particular black males. We believe that criminals should pay their debt to society, but while doing so they should not be subjected to abuse of any kind.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once stated: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

We believe if prisoners are not given the proper resources for rehabilitation we will have more deviant and angry persons being released back into our communities. We would like to see a decrease in crime, violence and homicides within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and especially Boston.

Some of the violence we see on our streets is the result of individuals whose lives have not been changed upon release from jail or prison.

If the DOC really wants to see prison recidivism decrease, they must make a true concerted effort by providing meaningful educational programs, increasing self help groups and holding everyone accountable. If correction officers are conducting themselves in an abusive or unprofessional manner then they need to be dealt with accordingly.

As clergy we have a moral obligation not to ignore violence and allegations within our society. As Jesus said in Matthew: “For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat ... naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.”

Therefore we should be involved in promoting redemption behind the walls. Prisoners should be treated with a greater sense of humanity and it will help to reduce violence upon their release.


Approximately 97 percent of prison inmates are coming back to our communities; we need to reach them by increasing prison volunteerism and teaching them more meaningful skills. We cannot ignore our family members and friends who are incarcerated. Moreover, we admonish all incarcerated not to forget to connect with local clergy upon their release date.

They should stay true to their jail house salvation and not forget to give back by supporting their communities.

We hope that the next commissioner will be a reformer and even welcome an oversight committee. Such a group would be beneficial to all involved in our prison system. There are resourceful ways in the midst of budget cuts that we can give of our time and talents to fight against the high rates of incarceration and recidivism.

We believe the coming generations are counting on our leadership to make a positive and indelible impact upon our society.  Everyone should be concerned and get involved in prison issues especially those whose communities are being adversely affected by violence.

It is time that we unify ourselves and make a mark of rehabilitation that can not be erased. We need to recommit ourselves to teaching our youth to embrace a strong spiritual and moral foundation which will keep them from going down the prison pipeline.

Pastor W. E. Dickerson II
Greater Love Tabernacle

Rev. Emanuel Hutcherson
Greater Love Tabernacle/Future Hope Apprenticeship Program

Minister Don Muhammad
Nation of Islam

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Profs. Study Rising Incarceration Rates

Profs. Study Rising Incarceration Rates

By Omer Awan, CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The United States has seen a historic increase in incarceration rates, exceeding that of any industrialized nation, according to a recent study co-authored by Harvard Sociology Professor Bruce Western and University of Washington Associate Professor Becky Pettit.
From 1980 to 2008, the incarceration rate in the U.S. has climbed from 221 to 780 per 100,000 people, with a total of 2.3 million individuals currently imprisoned or jailed, according to the study. The study also highlighted racial imbalances exacerbated by incarceration: more than 35 percent of all African-American high school dropouts between the ages of 20 to 34 have served some form of criminal sentence, but under 13 percent of white high school dropouts in the same age range have been incarcerated.

“The main goal of our research is getting this issue [of incarceration] on the radar screen,” Pettit said.
According to Pettit, changes to both sentencing and prosecution policies have contributed to the rise in incarceration rates. By definition, the current 5.9 percent unemployment rate excludes the 2.3 million who are incarcerated, Pettit said. But 90 percent of the U.S. prison population is composed of men, a majority of whom could otherwise contribute to the workforce.
When asked about policies that should be instituted to address these increasing numbers, Pettit said that states and local governments are currently most interested in the fiscal implications of incarceration, but that there also needs to be a focus on addressing broader social inequalities associated with incarceration.

She cited a solution offered by Nobel Laureate in Economics James J. Heckman, which suggests that the best way to decrease incarceration rates is to ensure that people obtain high quality education in their early years.
Pettit and Western’s study corroborates the importance of education and the close link between incarceration and social inequality, saying that “the prison boom is embedded in the structure of American social inequality.”
“Ameliorating these inequalities will be necessary to set us on a path away from mass incarceration and toward a robust, socially integrative public safety,” the study added.

“We need to acknowledge this issue and consider it as an extremely important concern,” Pettit said.

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Massachusetts Department of Corrections Commissioner Harold Clarke is leaving the state

Published Oct 09 2010, 04:03 PM by Carly Carioli

Virginia, he's your problem now.

Commissioner Harold Clarke, the top administrator of Massachusetts Department of Corrections, has taken a job as the director of Virginia's Department of Corrections.

Last month, the Phoenix published an investigation into one of the Mass DOC's biggest failures: the Old Colony Correctional Facility [OCCC], which has been plagued by suicides, overcrowding, and allegations of human-rights abuses. The DOC declined to make Clarke available to respond to our story, but maybe the Virginia media will have better luck getting some answers out of him. Here's a taste:

In the past year, several elected officials and DOC Commissioner Harold Clarke have visited OCCC to address problems between Caucasian officers and minority inmates. Concurrently, at least two female employees were escorted off the grounds after being caught having sex with convicts. In a state where convicts reportedly kill themselves at more than three times the national rate, in 2010 OCCC is the facility where prisoners are most likely to commit suicide. Attorneys for a recently deceased prisoner who hung himself there say the inmate complained up until his death about being denied his anti-psychotic drug regimen as retribution.

According to documents obtained by the Phoenix and interviews done with prisoners, problems between convicts and OCCC officers have escalated in the midst of what appears to be chronic institutional dysfunction. Visits from top lawmakers including Governor Deval Patrick have failed to stem what activists allege is systemic abuse of black and Latino prisoners, who comprise 54 percent of the center's population. Among the allegations: officers intentionally disrespect such religious and cultural items as Korans; concerted efforts are made to suppress educational opportunities for minority prisoners; and physical and institutional retribution is carried out against convicts who file grievances. A group of black prisoners at OCCC who organize as the African Heritage Coalition (AHC) say they have been especially targeted. Internal reports show that this past winter officers cancelled a long-planned Kwanzaa celebration on false premises; inmate advocates perceive this as a dangerous symbolic gesture.

This all comes at a time when tensions between officers and administrators are particularly high due to department-wide overcrowding, and when severe financial restraints are causing further problems. For the first quarter of 2010, the Mass DOC operated at 141 percent of its designated capacity, exceeding the intended average daily statewide population by more than 3000 prisoners. OCCC currently holds about 755 convicts — nearly 300 more than the facility was designed for. In 2009, the state could not afford to pay Bridgewater an annual $187,000 prison mitigation payment that the town uses to protect itself in the event of a jailbreak. In July, the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union (MCOFU) sued the DOC for overcrowding, alleging that the department is illegally and irresponsibly double-bunking convicts at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley. The case was dismissed because the union could not prove administrative guilt, but overcrowding at commonwealth facilities remains an ongoing worry: it's the rare issue that officers and progressive prison abolitionists mostly agree on . . .

. . . With aggravation building between inmates and administrators, in June of 2009 Commissioner Clarke and Governor Patrick visited OCCC to interview both sides. Among the grievances reported by inmates at the meeting, and that were recorded by AHC members, including Roxbury native Mac Hudson: OCCC employees "use policies and practices to discriminate against minorities in every facet of their institutional life," from job assignments, re-entry programs, and visitation policies to meal quality and recreational opportunities. Most damning were allegations that officers conspired against certain groups and individuals by manipulating the disciplinary process. Yet the DOC has no official report from this meeting, and refused to make the commissioner available for comment. Instead, a spokesperson tells the Phoenix that "Clarke is not aware of such [racial] tension."

Read more: http://thephoenix.com/BLOGS/phlog/archive/2010/10/09/massachusetts-department-of-corrections-commissioner-harold-clarke-is-leaving-the-state.aspx#ixzz12imH4TgG

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Man indicted for disability runaround

Man indicted for disability runaround

By Laura Crimaldi | Saturday, September 25, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage

A former state Department of Correction officer will be arraigned next month on charges he ran a marathon and half-marathan in Florida while collecting more than $56,000 in workman’s compensation, officials said.
John Cloutier, 45, of East Freetown, told medical providers he could not stand for long periods of time or do strenuous activities that may aggravate his injury after hurting himself on the job in July 2008, said Attorney General Martha Coakley.
“Mr. Cloutier seriously violated the public’s trust by knowingly faking an injury for a long period of time in order to receive benefits he was not entitled to, all on the taxpayers’ dime,” Coakley said. “Mr. Cloutier competed in a marathon and half-marathons while claiming to be on disability.”
Acting on anonymous tips, investigators found Cloutier competed in a half-marathon and marathon at Disney World in January 2009 and completed another half-marathon in September 2009, Coakley said.
In March, a state Department of Industrial Accidents judge ruled Cloutier became ineligible for disability payments for participating in one of the January races, Coakley said.
The case was referred to Coakley after that ruling, and Cloutier was indicted yesterday. He is accused of taking more than $56,000 in disability payments since January 2009 and is due to be arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court on Oct. 26.
Cloutier did not return messages seeking comment. Cloutier was terminated from his $62,111-a-year job at the Massachusetts Treatment Center in Bridgewater on July 1, said DOC spokeswoman Diane Wiffin. He had worked as a correction officer since 1997.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1284092

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