Massachusetts Corrections Dept. Offers Shorter Sentences To Inmates In Exchange For COVID-19 Shot
An arial view of MCI Framingham, a women s prison hit hard by the coronavirus with 71 confirmed cases on May 3, 2020 in Framingham, Massachusetts.
Boston Globe via Getty Images / Boston Globe
UPDATE: Gov. Charlie Baker has rescinded this program because it is not consistent with the administration’s policies regarding reduced prison terms, according to Executive Office of Public Safety and Security spokesperson Jake Wark.
Hoping to increase the number of incarcerated people vaccinated against COVID-19, the state Department of Corrections is offering a deal: One week’s reduced sentence in exchange for getting vaccinated.
Medical parole of convicted murderer John Stote draws criticism from Sheriff Cocchi, Springfield Mayor Sarno
Updated Feb 01, 2021;
Posted Feb 01, 2021
John E. Stote talks with his attorney during a hearing Hampden Superior Court in Springfield in June 1997.The Republican file
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SPRINGFIELD While prisoners’ rights activists applauded the release of murderer John Stote on medical parole, some local elected officials are seething.
Stote, 61, received a rare medical parole on Jan. 21 after contracting COVID-19 at Norfolk state prison. He was there serving out a life sentence without the possibility parole for the brutal murder of John “Jackie” Regan in 1995. The men argued over a debt after Regan agreed to sell him his then-popular bar, Carregan’s Lounge.
A New Bedford man who was a regional officer for the Massachusetts Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation pleaded guilty Thursday to racketeering charges after admitting in court to his part in several instances of gang-related violence.
Michael Cotto, known as “King Gordo,” 26, once a member of the New Bedford Chapter of the Latin Kings, admitted to participating in the gang s illegal drug business and to committing a variety of violent acts. One such act was a February 2018 beating, known as a “termination,” of an associate suspected of cooperating with law enforcement. The victim was found by New Bedford Police bleeding from his injuries and transported to the hospital, according to a news release from the Office of U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling.
(Jesse Costa/WBUR)
Two lawsuits filed in the past week allege that Massachusetts correction officials are endangering prisoners and staff during the pandemic, refusing to take steps that would tamp down infections and protect communities outside the prison walls.
Both suits say the current outbreaks in correctional facilities could have been avoided if more prisoners were released. In the past six weeks over 1,000 prisoners have been confirmed infected, over two thirds of the total infections to date. Five incarcerated people have died in the past month, reads the preliminary injunction filed Wednesday by Prisoners Legal Services of Massachusetts (PLSMA). All the measures DOC has put in place to control the spread of infection, such as lockdowns, mask use, and disinfection, have failed.
A former member of the Latin Kings in the Massachusetts Department of Correction Chapter pleaded guilty this week to racketeering charges.
Sandra Correa, or “Queen Dream,” 35, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, or RICO conspiracy. A sentencing date will be scheduled at a later time, according to a media release from the office of U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling.
Federal prosecutors say the Latin Kings bring disputes and related gang violence into jails and prisons. As a top member responsible for activities behind bars, Correa transmitted information to and from incarcerated gang members on behalf of the organization. This information included identities of victims targeted for violence in the jails and prisons, the locations of incarcerated members, the standing of certain individuals with the gang, and the status of disputes and alliances with other gangs, Lelling s office said.