PLS promotes the safe, humane and lawful treatment of MA prisoners through litigation, advocacy, and outreach.
Boston, MA
Joined December 2011
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Yesterday, the Boston City Council heard testimony from advocates & directly impacted community members about staff violence & in-custody deaths at the Suffolk County Sheriff's Dept. Despite six months' notice of the hearing, the department didn't attend. f.mtr.cool/v1gceizbtx
In December 2025, Shacoby Kenny died by homicide at the hands of Suffolk County Sheriff's Department (SCSD) corrections officers. He was a young Black man being held pretrial because he could not afford bail.
Today, PLS Executive Director Dave Rini testified before the Boston City Council about our investigation into the use of force at SCSD. He spoke alongside advocates and directly impacted community members, including Mr. Kenny's mother.
To learn more about our findings, read our open letter to SCSD leadership: plsma.org/suffolkletter
The DOC's Institutional Fact Cards provide valuable data on MA's incarcerated population. MCI-Norfolk Lifers Group, Inc. & Project Youth examine and contextualize these statistics, offering insights that help look beyond the numbers & understand the challenges of incarceration.
Writings can be accessed at: realcostofprisons.org/writin…
More than 140 people died in Massachusetts prisons and jails between January 2022 and December 2025. Six people died by suicide in 2025 alone.
About half the deaths over those 4 years were categorized as "expected." Dr. Nicole Mushero, a geriatrician at BMC who analyzed deaths from 2021 through 2023, concluded that nearly half of those people could have been eligible for medical parole. They died in custody instead.
Full story: f.mtr.cool/scxtta0ddw
MA has one of the oldest prison populations in the country. Our medical parole law is meant to let people with advanced illness go home when they are no longer a public safety risk. Despite the re-arrest rate being virtually zero for people over 65, most petitions are denied.
People who are dying should be able to spend the time they have left with their families, not shackled to a bed. That is what this law was written to do. f.mtr.cool/l73vrpdo9w
We're hiring an attorney! Join the team at Prisoners' Legal Services of Massachusetts and help advance justice for incarcerated people across the Commonwealth. Learn more and apply: plsma.org/hiring
Emerson Prison Initiative (EPI) provides a bachelor degree program for individuals incarcerated in MA. Starting in January, 15 men at Norfolk Prison will have the opportunity to earn a graduate certificate in a first-of-its-kind program offered by EPI. f.mtr.cool/i6lfk5fi9d
A major shortcoming of the recently passed PROTECT Act is its exception for the state prison system’s partnership with ICE.
Since 2007 the MA DOC has participated in the federal 287(g) program and, as part of its contract, regularly sends people exiting prisons directly into ICE custody.
Massachusetts can't claim to protect immigrants while actively funneling people from prison into a deportation machine that ignores due process and violates their rights. Massachusetts must end its 287(g) agreement. f.mtr.cool/cp2vcjtaxm
