Incarcerated women’s testimony from MCI-Framingham in support of the Jail and Prison Construction Moratorium
State Administration and Regulatory Oversight Committee Hearing
May 13, 2025
Julia Enright
My Name is Julia, I’m in support of the prison construction moratorium bill. I would say we definitely do not need new prisons. I think it’s really important to remember that everything we create today is creating our future. So you know when we’re building prisons today we are building prisons for the future. And the reality is that we’re going to need prisons less and less. You know, I’m not saying that we’re going to have a utopia tomorrow of course, but every single day we are making developments and getting better and better at understanding mental health, Lowering recidivism rates, understanding that has helped people intervene in healthier ways. And you know, we can’t help but get better at these things, you know? Already a lot of the data shows that most of the women in here should be in the minimum security at most, if not in the community. And the data also shows that when we hold people in higher security recidivism tends to increase. So if anything the things we’re going to need money for, there is already a demand for now: reentry programs, reentry support, There’s no need for a medium security prison. There’s so few of us here, there’s probably more of you listening to me right now than there are women in this building. You know and that will continue to dwindle off, you know, as we’re talking about. I’m sorry, the building itself. Honestly this building, like I don’t know, I love the old building. It’s enchanting. It’s the newer buildings that are cold and desolate. In my experience the newer the prisons, the worse they get. I’ve been in cells from the 60’s, 70’s, 90’s, and 2000’s and they get worse in that order. And you know, I’ve talked about numerous designs for this new prison and they get worse, you know? It’s the focus, the motivation, it’s control. Security is as cheap as possible. And it’s just- I would be terrified. But on top of that, more importantly- we do not need one. If there’s any major point I could get home, it’s that the problems we have are internal. They’re not the building. You know we have all of the tools to make massive amounts of progress to help people and get healthy citizens into healthy communities, which I think is hopefully what we all want and we don’t need a new prison to do that. So thank you for listening to me.
Maria Thompon
My name is Maria Thompson and I am testifying today in favor of the prison construction moratorium. While I agree that MCI Framingham is aged and in need of some updates and repair, is a $50 Million new prison really the best option in use of taxpayer money? Given my experience there, I strongly disagree with the plan to build a new women’s prison when state funds would better be spent reducing the need for prisons altogether by investing in the societal dysfunctions that landed most women in prison in the first place. For example nearly every woman here whom I have become familiar with that has committed a violent crime was first the victim of one. Does this not show that the victims of domestic abuse, assault, rape, molestation, incest and more are not receiving the support and healing necessary? To prevent the cycle of abuse from continuing. If I had received support for the mountain of stresses afflicting me in the months leading up to my crime I would not have reacted in the manner I did. And while I found my path for behavior change, mental health, and healing when I was released on
bail, those connections in my community were there at the time. But the growth process has dramatically slowed since my confinement here in prison. It disconnects us from the support network that we have established. While I am anxious to be released, not just for the obvious sake of freedom and reunification with my family and friends, but to continue treatment and the support awaiting me. Though I’m not dismissing the need for various forms of incarceration, the answer to all criminal behavior should not be a blanket “lock her up” model to follow. We should also be questioning what factors of what motivated the crime and who it is that is really reaping the benefits of our prison system in the first place. What I have witnessed over my lifetime is a lot of politicians touting a lot of misinformation, and outright falsehoods, leading to fear of some communities and criminal offenders. There are many more who are employed or otherwise making money in an industry founded on the perpetuation of crime. $50 million dollars is a lof of money to allocate to a punitive system slow to introduce real reform when an investment of anywhere near that amount in community health and wellness or drug and alcohol support decreases the need for such a prison to begin with. The prison ideology and the societal barriers it creates is old school thinking that lacks the principles and foundations that work. Instead of the reunification of community and connection to support network services where one lives is where the focus should be, while utilizing the technologies of today. Investing in these alternatives will help combat and mitigate the factors that drive most crime, reducing the numbers of innocent victims statewide. Is this now what the ultimate goal is? To make our streets safer? I thank you for the opportunity for allowing me to share today, and I encourage the committee to support the prison moratorium out of committee favorably and to pass it as soon as possible, thank you.
Kirsten Smith
Hi everyone my name is Kirsten Smith I’m currently incarcerated here at MCR Framingham I’m here to testify in favor of the prison construction moratorium. There are currently only about 225 women in custody here in Framingham. This number remains relatively stable and is unlikely to substantially increase anytime soon. In fact, in my experience if it were not for untreated mental illness and drug and alcohol abuse, Framingham would be nearly empty. Most of the women here were victims of violence and abuse, long before committing any crime. Many, like myself, asked for help, and received none. Others were so broken they didn’t realize they needed help until it was too late and they ended up here. Society has failed to protect many of the women here since childhood and continues to fail them now. It’s not the prison itself that needs to be rebuilt, it’s the system that’s broken and that should be the focus. A new prison will do nothing to help the women here heal and become contributing members of society. Our new prison would do nothing to prepare women for release or help them to find legal employment which actually offers a living wage. A new prison would do nothing to help women reunite with their children or give them the support and tools necessary to raise those children. A new prison would not help women get or remain clean and sober. A new system however, could recognize the unique needs of incarcerated women, and stop assuming that the current system, designed by men, for incarcerated men, would meet the needs of women. A new system would meet the needs when addressing mental health needs of each incarcerated woman. A new system would
have the programming to rehabilitate and prepare women to reenter society, and give them the tools necessary to succeed in society. A new system would have qualified individuals who at the very least, are familiar with the subject matter for facilitating this programming. A new system would focus on recovery from drug and alcohol abuse, not substituting with methadone or suboxone indefinitely. I could go on with encouraging the state administration and regulatory oversight committee to support the prison moratorium out of committee favorably and pass this bill as soon as possible. Thank you very much for your time.
Patricia Olsen
Good afternoon, and thank you for calling me to speak on this today. I’m here to speak on behalf of the prison construction moratorium, Bill S.2114 …(inaudible). Before spending $50 million on prison, we need to look at the needs of the incarcerated and look at alternatives. You wouldn’t buy a house for your family without considering what your family’s needs are. Why build a $50 million dollar prison without talking to those who would be living and working there? The focus should be on programs and rehabilitation that prepare us for life on the outside. Currently here at Framingham the only trades we have are culinary arts, cosmetology and sewing and industries. This is the 21st century, women can do more than hair, cook, and sow. One of the problems we have nationwide and here at framingham is addiction. When I first got here 20 years ago, we had CRA and WRA which are pertaining to people that have addiction problems, we no longer have that. There are a few programs that the girls are allowed to do, and they’re respected, but they’re not as aggressive and meaningful as the CRA and WRA was. We also offer methadone here, which, to me, is just a legal way of getting high. I’d like to see the statistics that methadone is actually working, because for 20 years the programs have stalled here. I've watched many girls get on methadone, and what happens is when they get out they end up going out on the streets, not to the clinics. They end up getting high, but the problem is- they don’t understand they can’t handle what they used to and then they’re overdosing and possibly dying. I’m tired of seeing these young girls come in here so high they can’t even go to programs or they can’t carry on conversation because they’re on methadone. This is the reason why we need to focus on helping them with their addiction, not just putting a bandaid on it. The other problem that we have is the classification. In 2021 the South Middlesex prison closed and held 125 people. And yes, our population was over 600 people, it still allowed us to have a lot of pre-release. Now Billerica, past middlesex county- holds twenty people, but as of last week there’s only eight people there. My question is, why aren’t there more people here who are allowed to go on pre-release? The population would be substantially smaller, if the classification process was actually followed. We need to have more trades in education, we need to have more programs for addiction, healthy relationships, and domestic violence. We need housing for the aging population. The alternatives for the $50 million dollar facility I’ve put a lot of thought in, and the one thing that I’ve thought would be somewhat maybe acceptable is that, in the state of Massachusetts, we’ve had a couple of nursing homes that have closed, why can’t the state take one of those homes, and make it into a pre-release? Or make it into a drug rehab program for these people that need the help with their addiction? You could also offer an electronic bracelet program, it would save the state money, and would save us from having to build a larger prison. The problem with the bracelet program now is that you already have to be in pre-release to get a bracelet. But we can’t get to pre-release because there’s not enough beds available. Another alternative is to pass the bills that we’ve all been fighting for: banning life without parole, the elderly parole, and the second chance bill. The nursing homes, they have the time, they have the rooms, they have the dining halls, they have the medical set up and would have to save you from building a new prison. I must ask that you wait before building a new facility. Do the research and find out what is needed and how the prison population can be minimized. You may find that you don’t need a new prison and the money could be spent on reducing recidivism and helping with addiction. Thank you for allowing me to speak on this important topic, and have a wonderful day.
Robin Casli
Good afternoon, my name is Robin Casale and I have resided at Framingham for 16 years. I want to thank you all for allowing me the opportunity to express my feelings on the building of a new $50 million dollar women’s prison is not a good idea. The cultural toxicity that presides in Greensboro is more detrimental than the poorly maintained prison that is MCI Framingham. Yes, Framingham can use some repairs structurally, but that is not what is needed. What is needed eminently is accountability for starts. We are a small community whether we like it or not and those who govern over us have an obligation for our safety since they have control over us. As incarcerated women we have been held accountable for our various misdeeds… (inaudible).. That is our retribution in which we are sentenced and then follow through on with rehabilitation in theory. I say in theory because there is nothing being offered in the way of programs in Framingham. Not even AA or NA, which is basic as far as programs are concerned. There are no trades being offered there other than culinary and cosmetology. Even more pressing is the dire need for proper medical and mental healthcare. I have personally witnessed horrible tragedies that could have been prevented with proper intervention. Those tragedies have only increased in recent years because no one has held these insurance companies accountable. Human lives should not be discarded or even be forgotten by people who have taken oaths and in this case, signed contracts, to do otherwise. Women who have been here for years and have aged poorly due to terrible (inaudible), processed food, and in general poor living conditions are not getting most of their medical needs met. That’s heartbreaking, especially in a state that has less women incarcerated than any other state in the country. This is a fact, like it is a fact that the foods we serve women daily are inexcusable. The food is (inaudible) and is poorly prepared- to be kind. I say to be kind since you’ll see if you investigate, that it is not only unsanitary, but our food is consistently mishandled by the vendors who are contracted. These are a few of the many inadequacies we are faced with day after day. Do you truly believe that building a women’s prison should take precedence over such major issues? Think about how far 50 Million can go in mitigating these real issues. Why waste $50 Million dollars and continue to face problems that will eventually expand into society? When the same women, here- now, will become part of society later. Thank you.
Champree Dinkins
Hi! Good afternoon everyone! Thank you for offering us this platform. It is a privilege and I am so appreciative. I am here today to testify in favor of the prison construction moratorium. I support the prison moratorium because I believe in rehabilitation and social responsibility. I also believe in the institutional structure of family, community, and education. Which, in my experience, incarceration is dismantling, traumatizing, and dehumanizing. Building a new prison will not end the sexual, emotional, physical, or verbal abuse incarcerated individuals endure. Nor will the construction of a new prison heal a broken and oppressive system. We can not solve living problems with ineffective solutions. There are so many variables that lead to imprisonment, problems, inequalities, survival, environmental conditioning, lack of equitable education and so many other evils that disease the soul of humanity. If indeed legislators are concerned about the wellbeing of incarcerated women, then take heed to our outcry. Mothers are being taken out of children’s upbringings, and children are being traumatized. Lost, hopeless, and fallen prey to this inhumane tradition. We need programs that build self-value and agency. We also need institutions that cultivate healthy human relationships. $50 million dollars would be better spent on building up the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Our homes, communities, and society is only as strong as its weakest members. It is our social responsibility to care for each other, locking up women up in cages is only locking up talent, innovation and contribution that can make our Commonwealth a better home for all of us. I encourage the committee to support the prison moratorium out of committee favorable, and pass it as soon as possible. Thank you so much, and #FreeHer. God Bless.
Melissa Cordle
Hi, good afternoon. Thank you for allowing me to testify on bill S.2114 At the present time given about 2/3rds (Inaudible due to the camera falling down for the second time during this testimony, omitting until the testimony resumes)... The problem is not this institution, its the administration. The living arrangements aren’t bad, the superintendent Darwin has done a good job as far as repairing things to get things livable. The need is for better programming. More medical, and better structure. Constantly the prison is kept well by the superintendent. Years ago there was Lancaster pre-release, (inaudible) prerelease, Middlesex prerelease, and two other ones in Boston. We have no place for the (inaudible) girls. And the program we have here is not structured enough for them to return back to society. They have all closed these programs that had a lot they did for the women. They used to have a lot of programs within the system here. We had 800- 850 women here, they were moving through the system much faster. The programming is needed for the women, the women have very little opportunity to reenter the program system. There isn’t enough here and it's worse what’s going on with security. It now takes women far longer here to move through the system. Years ago there were all kinds of programs in here and now its limited here and even more limited outside. The money should be utilized for halfway housing, prerelease, and improving the facilities where they can get the proper programming. Use that money to fix the middlesex prerelease, that's over 200 women. A lot of the women here were victims of abuse, drug abuse, and domestic violence. Jail Time is not dealing with the women with those needs. These programs are needed outside. A portion of that $50 million dollars could be needed to help the women. That is the key to processing these women back into society. Sitting in Framingham is not the answer. Thank you for allowing me to testify.