W

RG

O
.
Jails
NEWW. P Stop Building New
P
U
R
O
E
R
JAILS T R I Ain Massachusetts!
G
G
N

LW O R K I

No new jails should be built without a thorough public debate and until alternatives are put in place and
given a chance to work. Taxpayer money should be used for pretrial services and community-based
alternatives to incarceration, which are better investments for individuals and for the Commonwealth.
The Legislature is considering two bills to build or find places for new jails. S.1297, sponsored by Sen.
Karen Spilka, would establish a regional correctional facility for women in eastern Massachusetts. S.1626,
sponsored by Sen. Kenneth Donnelly, would establish a special commission to identify and evaluate
potential sites for a justice complex to replace the courthouse and jail for men that was recently closed in
Cambridge. The commission would also evaluate sites for a jail for women who are waiting to go on trial and
who have been sentenced to up to 2 years.
Even if the Legislature does not pass these bills, a sheriff can ask the governor to issue bonds that the
Legislature has already approved in order to build a new jail.

NEW
JAILS

The Jail Moratorium Committee of the Pretrial Working Group opposes both bills and the use of any bond
money for jail construction. We oppose a new jail for men as part of the proposed justice complex in
southern Middlesex County and any new jail for women. We focus here on why we oppose new jails for
women.
We believe that no new jails for women should be built in Massachusetts until the bills below are passed and
given a chance to work. If enacted and fully implemented, these three bills would significantly reduce the
number of women being held pretrial as well as the number of women who are sentenced to serve time.

Bail Reform (H.1584 & S.802) would base pre-trial detention on whether an individual is likely to show up

for her court date, rather than on her ability to pay bail. Every year in Massachusetts thousands of women
are jailed before trial, many because they cannot afford to pay bail of less than $1,000. According to the
Massachusetts Womens Justice Network, 85% of women held pretrial are charged with non-violent offenses;
many are single mothers of children under age 18 whose lives are disrupted.

Alternative Sentencing for Primary Caretakers (H.1382) would create sentencing alternatives for

parents convicted of non-violent offenses who have primary responsibility for their dependent children.

RG

An Act Eliminating Mandatory Minimum Sentences Related to Drug Offenses (H.1620 & S.786) would

repeal all mandatory minimum sentences for all drug offenses, allowing judges to take individual factors into
account; the bill would also allow people who are now in prison for drug convictions to be eligible for parole,
work release and earned good time after serving half the mandatory minimum.

W.

PR

.O
P
U

O to run
Jails are costly
E T to build and even more Rcostly
R I A LW

G
G
N
I
ORK

According to the Vera Institute report The Price of Jails: Measuring the Taxpayer Cost of Local Incarceration, the
average daily cost to incarcerate a person in Hampden County, MA, is $143.72 or about $4,311.60 per month,
for a total of $51,739.20 per year. At these rates, keeping 200 women locked up for a year costs more than $10
million paid for by all taxpayers out of the states general operating budget. These daily operating costs are in
addition to the cost of building a new jail. We call on taxpayers and lawmakers to imagine how $4,311.60 can be
more productively spent than incarcerating a woman often convicted of nothing for a month.

JAILS
The closer to home myth

W.

RG

Often building a new jail is framed as an act of kindness and concern for women and their children.
People sometimes believe that locking women up closer to home is a solution to family disruption. Yet
no matter how close a jail or prison is to an incarcerated womans home, she is unlikely to receive visits
from her children, for a number of reasons, including: 1) the person taking care of her child is often
caring for other children, burdened with responsibilities, and cannot manage arranging visits to the jail or
prison during the limited visiting hours; 2) the caregiver has a criminal record which may prohibit visiting;
and 3) the caregiver is unwilling to subject herself or himself and the children to the sometimes invasive
searches of visitors, at times including drug-sniffing dogs. Having a parent in jail is deeply destabilizing
for children and negatively affects their physical and mental health and having their incarcerated parent
closer to home does not reduce these negative effects.

PR

ETR

I A LW O R K

R
G
G
N
I

.O
P
U

Massachusetts residents believe

new jails and prisons are not the answer
In February 2014, the non-partisan MassINC Polling Group found:
Nearly two-thirds (64%) think the criminal justice system should prioritize crime prevention and
rehabilitation over enforcement and punishment

NEW
JAILS

People are twice as likely to perceive drug use as a health problem (64%) than a crime (24%)
In 1997, two-thirds supported building a new 1,000-bed prison; now, two-thirds would prefer
reforming the system so that fewer people are sent to prison rather than building more prisons.

RG

No new jails should be built without a thorough public debate and until
alternatives are put in place and given a chance to work. Taxpayer money
should be used to invest in pretrial services and community-based, communityrun wellness alternatives, which are much less costly in terms of dollars and
also in terms of the emotional, psychological, physical and relational harms
experienced by men and women who needlessly spend weeks or months in jail.

Call these legislators. Tell them new jails are not the answer. We need a moratorium on jail building.
Call your senator and representative: www.openstates.org/find_your_legislator

W.

PR

ETR

R
INGG

.O
P
U

Senator Karen Spilka (617-722-1640) and Senator Kenneth Donnelly (617-722-1432)

Rep. Antonio F. D. Cabral (617-722-2017) and Senator John F. Keenan (617-722-1494),
Chairs of the House and Senate Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets

I A LW O R K

If you believe new jails are not the answer,

join us in organizing for a moratorium on new jails.

Lets invest in people instead of jails.

The Jail Moratorium Committee of The Pretrial Working Group
Contact us: www.pretrialworkinggroup.org

NEW
JAILS