Families for Justice as Healing supports a variety of legislation that would stop the construction of new prisons, help currently incarcerated people return to their communities especially with new pathways to release, and stop people from being incarcerated in the first place. Our priorities for this session are below. To take action in support of these bills, visit bit.ly/FreeHerMA
S.2944/H.3422: An Act Establishing a Jail and Prison Construction Moratorium
STOP NEW PRISON CONSTRUCTION IN MASSACHUSETTS
Overview: The Moratorium would pause jail and prison construction and expansion for five years in MA, without preventing needed repairs for the well-being of incarcerated people.
Policy goal: This bill would pause the process of designing and building a $360 million women’s prison, and make time to focus on further reducing the number of people in jail and prison and implement alternatives before building anything new. Our communities need and deserve public dollars for housing, healthcare, and treatment–not jail and prison construction!
H.2693: An Act Relative to Elder and Medical Parole
RELEASE AGING, SICK, AND DISABLED PEOPLE FROM PRISON
Overview: This bill would establish the right to parole hearings for incarcerated people who are 55 years old and older, and who have served at least half of their prison sentence or 15 years, whichever is sooner, regardless of transgression. The bill language states that elders should be granted parole unless the parole board demonstrates the person would be unable to live in the community without violating the law. Passing this bill would mean that people released on elder parole could not be reincarcerated for technical violations, and that their parole should be terminated after three years if the person has complied with all the conditions, and will continue to do so.
This bill also addresses key issues with the existing medical parole statute, which have resulted in too few releases of sick and dying people in prison. If this bill is passed, the medical parole process would be improved by:
Expediting both the DOC’s decision making and release processes
Clarifying that the DOC’s decision should be based on a person’s current risk to public safety and their medical condition, not solely the nature of their underlying conviction
Improving access to medical parole by screening for individuals with dementia and cognitive decline, who may not otherwise be aware of medical parole or how to apply
Policy goal: The goal of this bill is to create and expand meaningful pathways to release for the oldest and sickest incarcerated individuals, alleviate suffering, shift investment to care in the community, and prevent people from dying alone in jail and prison.
S.1256: An Act Relative to Justice for Survivors
KEEP SURVIVORS OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY, NOT PRISONS
Overview: This bill would allow survivors of domestic and sexual violence and abuse who have been charged with transgressions to motion the court for diversion from prosecution and an alternative sentence. This bill would also allow survivors of violence who are already serving a sentence to file a motion with the court to reconsider their sentence if coercion or abuse led to their transgression. Finally, this bill would establish an affirmative defense for survivors of abuse and sexual assault who were coerced or forced into committing a transgression.
Similar versions of this bill have passed in New York, Oklahoma, and Georgia, where releases of survivors have already begun under the new laws.
Policy goal: The goal of this bill is to protect survivors from convictions and incarceration, and to create a meaningful pathway home for women in Framingham serving long sentences for transgressions related to their experience enduring abuse and assault. This bill is also an opportunity to talk about how the system causes further harm to survivors and their families rather than helping people heal, and aims to interrupt cycles of violence.