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We have recently learned from local public defenders that in at least two instances people who
could have been released after posting bail were kept in jail solely because of ICE detainers in
violation). On August 17, 2017 an individual posted bail at the Dartmouth jail but was not
released despite having no outstanding warrants or other criminal matters pending. According to
officials, he was held "under an A number" in unit 2 East, which houses ICE detainees at the
Bristol County House of Correction.
A second example is a CPCS client whose family tried to post bail on August 18,2017 at the Ash
Street jail and were told by the clerk on duty that the client had an immigration detainer and if
they paid bail, he would not be released, but held on the ICE detainer.
In Lunn vs. Commonwealth, January 24, 2017, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
expressly stated that Massachusetts courts and law enforcement officials - including sheriffs and
police officers —do not have authority to hold persons based solely on immigration
detainers. The refusal of the Bristol County Sheriff to release people held only on ICE detainers
will surely be repeated if immediate intervention to halt this practice does not occur.
In regard to conditions of confinement at the correctional facilities under the control of Sheriff
Hodgson, the New England Center for Investigative Reporting found that Bristol County has had
50% more suicides in its jail than Suffolk County, and twice as many as Essex and Worcester
counties. See "Suicides Plague Massachusetts County Jails," Boston Globe, May 28,2017.
A key contributor to this suicide rate is the overuse of solitary confinement, or what our Sheriff
may officially call "segregated housing." See American Bar Association, ABA Standards for
Criminal Justice Treatment of Prisoners (Washington, DC: ABA, 2010), §23-1.0, defining
"segregated housing" as "housing of a prisoner in conditions characterized by substantial
isolation from other prisoners, whether pursuant to disciplinary, administrative, or classification
action."
Social science research has made clear that when human beings are subjected to social isolation
and reduced environmental stimulation, they suffer psychological injury—even individuals who
were not previously diagnosed with mental illness. See e.g. Metzner & Fellner, Solitary
Confinement and Mental Illness in U.S. Prisons: A Challenge for Medical Ethics, 38 J. Am.
Academy Psychiatry and Law 104-108 (2010).
The exorbitant number of inmates with mental health problems that are being housed in solitary
confinement in Bristol County suggests that solitary confinement is being used as an alternative
to appropriate mental health treatment. Sheriffs in other counties have taken steps to protect the
men and women in their custody in response to rising suicide rates. For instance, Hampden
County, which is similar in size to Bristol County, has ten mental health counselors, while BCHC
has only three counselors. Worcester County has improved its intake processes, enabling new
inmates to discuss their mental health concerns privately. They also created a "new man unit"
where recent arrivals are housed separately from other inmates to ease the transition.
Sheriff Hodgson insists that Bristol County prisoners have higher rates of drug addiction and
mental illness that prisoners in other jails, but he has not implemented effective measures to
address these concerns. Careful monitoring and counseling have improved suicide prevention in
other jails, but Bristol County has been far behind in adopting programs and protocols that others
have successfully implemented.
This Committee is aware that numerous conditions at the facilities Sheriff Hodgson oversees
amount to a denial of basic human needs. They include, but are not limited to, a shocking and
potentially dangerous overcrowding situation as evinced by an occupancy rate of 330% at the
BCHC, denial of necessary medical care, routine denial of prescribed medications and
insufficient food for prisoners.
We are presenting these and other conditions to you as evidence that an investigation into the
conditions at the BCHC is warranted. Sheriff Hodgson is engaging in practices that are denying
prisoners their Federal and State constitutional rights.
In conclusion, we are asking you, as our chief law enforcement officer, to open an investigation
into the conditions and procedures followed at the Bristol County House of Correction under the
authority of Sheriff Thomas Hodgson.
Sincerely,
The following individuals and organizations comprise "Bristol County for Correctional Justice":
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The following members of AASURJ (Attleboro Area Showing up for Racial Justice) sign this
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We are organizations and individuals from Bristol County, Massachusetts who are very
concerned about the treatment of people in the custody of Sheriff Thomas Hodgson. These
concerns range from the illegal detention of persons to human rights abuses inside the facility.
We believe his conduct amounts not only to a dereliction of duty but also to a violation of the
U.S. Constitution and the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, both of which prohibit "cruel and
unusual punishments."
We have recently learned from local public defenders that in at least two instances people who
could have been released after posting bail were kept in jail solely because of ICE detainers. On
August 17, 2017 an individual posted bail at the Dartmouth jail but was not released despite
having no outstanding warrants or other criminal matters pending. According to officials, he was
held "under an A number" in unit 2 East, which houses ICE detainees at the Bristol County
House of Correction.
A second example is a CPCS client whose family tried to post bail on August 18, 2017 at the
Ash Street jail and were told by the clerk on duty that the client had an immigration detainer and
if they paid bail, he would not be released, but held on the ICE detainer.
Lunn expressly stated that Massachusetts courts and law enforcement officials - including
sheriffs and police officers - do not have authority to hold persons based solely on immigration
detainers. The refusal of the Bristol County Sheriff to release people held only on ICE detainers
will surely be repeated if immediate intervention to halt this practice does not occur.
With regard to conditions of confinement at the correctional facilities under the control of Sheriff
Hodgson, the New England Center for Investigative Reporting found that Bristol County has had
50% more suicides in its jail than Suffolk County, and twice as many compared to Essex and
Worcester counties. See Boston Globe, "Suicides Plague Massachusetts County Jails," May 28,
2017.
A key contributor to this suicide rate is the overuse of solitary confinement, or what our Sheriff
may officially call "segregated housing." See American Bar Association, ABA Standards for
Criminal Justice Treatment of Prisoners (Washington, DC: ABA, 2010), § 23-1.0, defining
"segregated housing" as "housing of a prisoner in conditions characterized by substantial
isolation from other prisoners, whether pursuant to disciplinary, administrative, or classification
action."
Social science research has made clear that when human beings are subjected to social isolation
and.reduced environmental stimulation, they suffer psychological injury—even individuals who
were not previously diagnosed- with mental illness. See e.g. Metzner & Fellner, Solitary
Confinement and Mental Illness in U.S. Prisons: A Challenge for Medical Ethics, 38 J. Am.
Academy Psychiatry and Law 104-108 (2010).
The exorbitant number of inmates with mental health problems that are being housed in solitary
confinement in Bristol County suggests that solitary confinement is being used as an alternative
to appropriate mental health treatment. Sheriffs in other counties have taken steps to protect the
men and women in their custody in response to rising suicide rates. For instance, Hampden
County, which is similar in size to Bristol County, has ten mental health counselors, while
BCHC has only three counselors. Worcester County has improved its intake processes, enabling
new inmates to discuss their mental health concerns privately. They also created a "new man
unit" where recent arrivals are housed separately from other inmates to ease the transition.
Sheriff Hodgson insists that Bristol County prisoners have higher rates of drug addiction and
mental illness than prisoners in other jails, but he has not implemented effective measures to
address these concerns. Careful monitoring and counseling have improved suicide prevention in
other jails, but Bristol County has been far behind in adopting programs and protocols that others
have successfully implemented.
We are aware that conditions at the facilities Sheriff Hodgson oversees amount to a denial of
basic human needs. They include, but are not limited to, a shocking and potentially dangerous
overcrowding situation as evinced by an occupancy rate of 330% at the BCHC, denial of
necessary medical care, routine denial of prescribed medications and insufficient food for
prisoners.
We are presenting these and other conditions to you as evidence that an investigation into the
conditions at the BCHC is warranted. Sheriff Hodgson is engaging in practices that are denying
prisoners their Federal and State constitutional rights.
In conclusion, we are asking you, as our chief law enforcement officer, to open an investigation
into the conditions and procedures followed at the Bristol County House of Correction under the
authority of Sheriff Thomas Hodgson.
Sincerely,