Last year, the Massachusetts House and Senate passed a moratorium on new prison construction in Massachusetts. But the bill was vetoed by then-Gov. Charlie Baker, whose administration was moving to build a new women's prison to replace MCI-Framingham.
Now, with a new administration in charge, lawmakers and advocates are bringing the bill back, while also urging the state to rethink incarceration for the women who are at MCI-Framingham already. Adam Reilly discusses the proposed moratorium and the broader push for decarceration with Elizabeth Matos, the executive director of Prisoners' Legal Services of Massachusetts; Mallory Hanora, the executive director of Families for Justice as Healing; and Angelia Jefferson, who was incarcerated at MCI-Framingham for 31 years and now works with Families for Justice as Healing as well.
Should Massachusetts ban new prison construction? Email us at TalkingPolitics@wgbh.org, or share your thoughts via the Talking Politics page.
You can watch the discussion below right now, or catch the full show at 7 p.m. on GBH 2. Subscribe to the GBH News’ YouTube channel to get alerted to future episodes.
