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Class action lawsuits

Massachusetts Prisoners to Receive $6 Million in Settlement Over Abusive Treatment by Correction Officers

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Inmates who were brutally abused by correction officers at Massachusetts' Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in 2020 will receive an average of $40,000 each from a $6 million settlement. The settlement, which includes several reforms aimed at preventing excessive force in state prisons, ends years of legal wrangling in a class-action lawsuit. The case stemmed from a weekslong campaign of violence that inmates described as brutal abuse, including being beaten, kicked, and subjected to the use of Tasers and pepper ball guns.

Key Takeaways:

  • The settlement will be divided among approximately 150 current and former inmates, who will each receive an average of $40,000.
  • The brutality against inmates began on January 10, 2020, after a group of inmates attacked correction officers, triggering a crackdown that was sanctioned by top-level officials at the Massachusetts Department of Correction.
  • Correction officers used excessive force against inmates, including beating, kicking, gouging eyes, and smashing faces into floors or walls.
  • The plaintiffs in the case filed their complaint in January 2022, and the Department of Correction agreed to a prospective settlement in May.
  • The settlement includes several reforms aimed at preventing excessive force in state prisons, including the creation of an anonymous tip line for correction employees to report misconduct, increased officer training, and a requirement that officers in the department's special operations unit wear high-visibility name tags.
  • The Massachusetts Department of Correction has implemented several reforms on its own, including tightening its policies governing the use of force, updating policies on K-9 deployment and disciplinary investigations, and activating body cameras when responding to or witnessing critical incidents.

Statistics:

  • 150 current and former inmates will receive a total of $6 million, averaging $40,000 per person.
  • 7 incidents of violence were reported at Massachusetts' Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center from 2003-2017, including the 2003 murder of a fellow inmate by priest John J. Geoghan and the 2017 death of former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez.
  • Inmates reported being subjected to physical abuse, including being beat, kicked, and gouged, between January 10, 2020, and February 2020.
  • 100% of the $6 million settlement will be divided among the plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit.

Sources:

  • "Massachusetts Prisoners to Receive $6 Million in Settlement Over Abusive Treatment by Correction Officers" by The New York Times, May 2023
  • A complaint filed in January 2022 by inmates at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center
  • A statement from Prisoners' Legal Services of Massachusetts, which represented the inmates involved in the lawsuit
  • A statement from the Massachusetts Department of Correction, May 2023

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