I worked on this story while I was at The Boston Globe. I toured four different prison facilities with reporter, David Abel, to see a supervised view of the Massachusetts prison system. I say supervised because our tour was carefully guided by a public relations representative who was present during all interviews and all locations. We toured the reception center, which is used to place inmates into a category of maximum, medium, or minimum security prison. An inmate, unless their charge is severe, will earn his way from where he is originally placed, to a minimum security prison and ultimately released.
Corrections officers move an inmate in leg and handcuffs at Souza-Baranowski maximum prison. Located in Shirley, Souza-Baranowski is the newest correctional facility in the state of Massachusetts.
A tri-level cell block houses new prisoners at MCI-Cedar Junction in Walpole, Mass. MCI-Cedar Junction is the maximum security reception center for male offenders. While this area features older style, barred jail cells, the newer maximum and medium security prisons have solid doors with small windows. The prison also houses the Departmental Disciplinary Unit, DDU, which is reserved for the more serious offenders and problematic prisoners.
An inmate peeks out of his prison cell at MCI-Cedar Junction at Walpole, Mass. MCI-Cedar Junction is the maximum security reception center for male offenders in Massachusetts. At the center, prisoners are classified for placement in a maximum, medium, or minimum security prison based on their crime and behavior.
Prison security officer Kevin Shepard navigates the security camera system at Souza-Baranowski. Approximately 365 cameras monitor inmate activity at all times. Souza-Baranowski is the newest correctional facility located in Massachusetts and is a maximum security prison for male offenders.
An inmate receives his meal through a small opening between the mess hall and the kitchen at Souza-Baranowski. The mess hall is one of the more high-risk areas for trouble and fights because of the concentration of inmates.
The calendar of Marcos Martinez, 41, of Lawrence, in prison at Souza-Baranowski for assault and battery with intent to murder. Martinez uses the calendar to remember the things he did that day, such as who he talked with, his schedule for Alcoholics Anonymous class, and schools days.
A prisoner who works in the kitchen walks back to his cell block at MCI-Shirley Medium Security Correctional Center. In medium security prison, inmates are allowed to walk more freely between buildings than in maximum security prison. However, the facility has a double fence which is approximately 25 feet tall with barbed wire. MCI-Shirley is a combined medium and minimum security prison for male offenders in Massachusetts.
Prisoners sit through an orientation in cell block A at MCI-Shirley Medium Correctional Center. The prisoners are either new to the Massachusetts prison system or were recently moved from another prison in the state to this one.
After an orientation at MCI-Shirley Medium Security Correctional Center, a prisoner speaks with a fellow inmate about how one's responsibilities as a prisoner differ greatly from those of a free man.
Rebekah Sigall, a spectrum Correctional Recovery Academy (CRA) instructor, teaches a CRA 1 class where prisoners learn basic manners at MCI-Shirley Medium Security Correctional Center. Many prisoners said that they wish they had more programs for developing skills and education.
Jose Garcia, 43, of Puerto Rico, in MCI-Shirley Minimum Security Correctional Center for drug trafficking, works in the library on a letter proposing a program that would help kids stay out of prison. Inmates do not have access to computers or copiers and must type all letters and copies on an electronic typewriter.
A small, handmade weapon with a sheath and handle grip that was confiscated at MCI-Shirley Medium Security Correctional Center. Weapons are often made of common office supplies and prison structures, such as clipboards, binder clips, and light fixtures.
A prisoner works out in a small, enclosed area at MCI-Shirley Medium Security Correctional Center. The prisoner is in segregation because he acted out of order and was taken out of his cell block. In segregation, prisoners are kept in their cells for 23 hours a day and allowed one hour of outdoor exercise in a 30-foot by 30-foot enclosure. They can request to go to the law library, shower, and other activities during those 23 hours, if approved.
Kevin Sullivan, 54, of East Cambridge, in MCI-Shirley Medium Security Correctional Center for second-degree murder, laughs with his wife, Antonette Sullivan, 64, in the visiting room about what life will be like as a couple outside of prison. The Sullivans married a little more than four years ago while he was in prison. They have never been in a relationship with each other outside of prison.
Douglas Hurlbert, left, 51, of Saugus, in MCI-Shirley Minimum Security Correctional Center for armed robbery, brushes his teeth as Kenny Carbone, 60, of Woburn, in for his fifth drunken driving arrest, walks to the bathroom in their 14-man dorm room style housing block. In minimum security prison, inmates are allowed more freedoms and interaction with one another.
MCI-Shirley Minimum Security prison uses "out of bounds" signs, instead of a perimeter fence, to indicate where prisoners can and cannot go. Prisoners can walk between buildings and play basketball without being supervised by corrections officers. The inmates are counted every hour. The MCI-Shirley Medium prison is the row of red buildings in the top left, beyond the brick buildings. MCI-Shirley is a combined medium and minimum security prison for male offenders in Massachusetts.
Christian Roche, left, and José Rivera, cut grass at the Leominster Cemetery during a work crew outing from MCI-Shirley Minimum Security Correctional Center. Inmates in the minimum security prison rarely take advantage of these opportunities to flee because they only have four years or fewer left to serve before they are free. Escaping automatically adds time to their sentence.
