Boston Prison Blues

Commissioner Clarke gets an earful at a local hearing

By Cara Bayles

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Last Tuesday, approximately 100 people filed into St. Paul's Cathedral for a public hearing with Department of Corrections (DOC) Commissioner Harold Clarke. The event was organized by the End the Odds Coalition, a group of activists (among them, former state Rep. Mel King) promoting a humane culture within the Massachusetts prison system.

The testimony spanned a range of voices, some emanating from behind prison walls. A letter penned by Joseph Wood, who's currently incarcerated in Walpole, cited several passages of state laws the DOC had broken, particularly those mandating re-entry arrangements one year prior to release. The DOC's plans for Wood's December 12th release began a month ago, and don't involve housing or health care (though he suffers from Hepatitis C and rheumatoid arthritis). "I'm being released back into society mentally unstable and more dangerous than I was when I was admitted in 2004," wrote the Seattle native. "I'll be homeless because they refuse to comply with release preparation regulations."

Many advocates discussed the challenges of release. Kevin Wayne Thomas, of STRIVE, an organization that trains for workplace re-entry, said prisoners need to begin preparing for release the moment they're incarcerated. Lyndia Downie, president of the Pine Street Inn, said that between 2006 and 2008, she'd noticed a 46-percent increase in ex-offenders coming to the shelter, adding that criminal records are an obstacle to employment and housing. Leslie Walker, director of Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services, said the DOC must avoid over-classification (unnecessarily placing prisoners in maximum security) and institute a step-down system (to medium or minimum security) prior to release. "Prisoners have said to me the rules inside are the exact opposite of the rules outside," Walker said of the assimilation process. "Somebody bumps you in line in prison, you'd better react. Somebody bumps you in line at the CVS, you better not react."

Robert Dellelo, a former prisoner and member of the American Friends Criminal Justice Program, passed out a 19-page packet chronicling how rehabilitative programs were dropped with former Gov. William Weld's promise to "re-introduce inmates to the joys of busting rocks."

"If there was a magic button that, if pressed, would instantly rehabilitate all prisoners and reduce recidivism to zero, with a show of hands, those who believe that the Department of Corrections would not press that button." Most hands shot up.

Commissioner Clarke took the microphone to defend the DOC, encouraging the attendees to focus on institutions that fail people before they get to prison. "We want to make a change. That's why we are here today," he added. "We started this morning at 6:45 and here we are here tonight without having supper yet." Someone shouted back, "Me neither!" Susan Mortimer held up a photograph of her brother Glenn after he'd been beaten by prison guards in MCI-Shirley.

Clarke also mentioned a cost-benefit plan he's preparing for the governor this December. "In a sense, [it's] an argument for re-entry," he said, adding that the DOC didn't have enough resources or authority to implement changes. "That's why I encourage you all to not just spend your time talking to DOC ... but to get with your representatives, get with your senators, and make sure that they too understand what it is you think ought to be done."

Sonia Chang-Díaz, who just won the senatorial seat for the 2nd Suffolk district, was the only elected official knowo to have attended the hearing, according to Joanna Marinova, an End the Odds organizer. "These are important issues," Chang-Díaz said after the hearing. "We need to address them from all angles." She linked criminal justice to problems with youth violence and education.

According to Marinova, End the Odds invited 16 legislators. Only Sen. Gale Candaras, D-Wilbraham, and Sen. Patricia Jehlen, D-Somerville, sent staffers. Marinova was peeved at the absence of Rep. Eugene O'Flaherty, D-Chelsea. "I think it's a great oversight on his part, as head of the Judiciary Committee," she said. "His constituents suffer the highest rate of violence in Massachusetts. If this system isn't working for anyone, it's them." Rep. O'Flaherty's office declined to comment.

King wrapped up the hearing. "It's easy to be on the commissioner's case. He's here. How do we get on our legislators' case?" King asked. "I don't talk about hope. I talk about expectations ... We need to make sure these recommendations come true."