TW: discussions of violence and sexual assault
Less than twenty minutes down the road from Wellesley College’s campus sits MCI-Framingham, the oldest operating women’s prison in the United States. Established in 1877, its walls have witnessed over a century of systemic neglect and abuse of both the facilities and prisoners. Today, it remains a site plagued by reports of sexual misconduct, inadequate healthcare, and deteriorating infrastructure: complaints that have gone unaddressed for decades. Despite Massachusetts having the lowest incarceration rates in the country, the state is in the process of building a new taxpayer-funded $50 million “trauma-informed” women’s prison to replace MCI-Framingham: a decision that is marketed as, yet fundamentally misinterprets, a path toward justice.
The prison moratorium bill was reviewed at the Massachusetts state legislative biennial session early this January. Organizers and activists, many of whom have been formerly incarcerated themselves, have spearheaded the initiative including Andrea James, founder of the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls. Inmates and bill proponents have expressed concern about the facilities’ conditions in Framingham, which they argue have been poor for decades; these calls for critical improvements have been ignored. This bill, which would pause any new prison construction for the next five years, crucially stipulates that renovations to existing facilities are allowed and even enumerates a list of essential repairs.
In support of the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women behind the “no new women’s prison” campaign, we, the Wellesley News Editorial Board, energetically endorse the proposed prison moratorium bill and encourage members of the Wellesley community to take action in support of this cause.
The spark behind this campaign, James, was serving twenty-four months in FCI-Danbury, when she helped create the Roxbury-based abolitionist organization Families for Justice as Healing (FJAH). Among many things, FJAH’s #FreeHer campaign advocates for decarceration through accountability processes and community-based services –– emphasizing the need to acknowledge how trauma from violence, sexual abuse, mental health issues, racism and poverty is often the catalyst for the criminalization of women and girls. FJAH believes that since prisons do not statistically prevent or deter crime, and only inflict more harm and trauma onto women, prisons “will never be the place for a woman or girl to heal and advance her life.” These words underscore a critical truth: a justice system that targets marginalized communities cannot be reformed through better facilities — transformation will only occur through divestment from incarceration and investment in alternative methods for addressing the root causes of crime.
During hearings in June 2023, twenty MCI-Framingham inmates testified live in favor of the prison moratorium, revealing details of their harrowing reality: rampant sexual violence, inadequate medical and mental health care, elderly inmates with dementia who “don’t even know they’re here,” and the psychological toll of long-term confinement. Additionally, the Women’s Project, a special initiative from Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts (PLS), which “aims to bring attention to unique experiences of incarcerated women throughout Massachusetts,” interviewed twenty-two women, nineteen of whom reported that they had either experienced or witnessed sexual harassment or sexual violence by correctional or other staff. Thirteen of the interviewees experienced physical and sexual violence before incarceration. Many of these women are incarcerated for “crimes of survival” — offenses committed in response to poverty, homelessness or abuse. Building a new prison will not solve these issues; it will only relocate them to a state-of-the-art facility.
Mallory Hanora, FJAH’s executive director, summarised why inmates insist against investing millions in a new building. “They’re asking for a focus on programming for their healing and well-being, and then really exploring pathways to release.” HDR, the contracted for-profit architectural firm specializing in carceral infrastructure, has already built over 275 prisons. We find it implausible that this prison would be any different just because of claims it will be gender-responsive and trauma-informed. In fact, HDR’s “most progressively designed prison,” has had numerous scandals, including continual rampant sexual abuse, eight wrongful deaths, and 25 medical malfeasance cases (including a woman who, in 2018, gave birth in her cell’s toilet after repeatedly being denied care). So-called “feminist prisons” do not ameliorate any problems nor aid in women’s rehabilitation. They further entrench a dependence on the carceral system, perpetuating the same conditions which fuel incarceration.
Massachusetts has an opportunity to lead by example. MCI-Framingham’s population has decreased from 600 to under 200 in the last decade. Instead of funneling millions into a new prison, we can fund transformative justice strategies which break, rather than continue, systemic cycles of harm. If the moratorium passes, it buys time for organizations to tackle the root problems facing the justice and carceral systems. For example, FJAH’s Reimagining Communities guaranteed income initiative, or New Beginnings Reentry Services, which provides housing, counseling, and job training to formerly incarcerated people — all of which are proven strategies for reducing recidivism and restoring dignity to those transitioning from prison. A successful moratorium would also give organizations time to develop realistic decarceration strategies for the 200 women currently serving time in Framingham.
Marketing in favor of “gender-informed” prisons conceals the truth –– through appropriating inspiring feminist quotes, phony celebrations of female empowerment and vague “women-oriented” recommendations –– but we must not fall for rhetoric which claims this new prison is “good” for women. There is no such thing as a feminist prison. We urge you to contact your Massachusetts lawmakers: tell them to pass the prison moratorium bill, and commit to a future of community care and justice.
To take action as a MA resident: https://tinyurl.com/stopprisondesign
To get involved: bit.ly/nonewprisonvolunteer
8/8 Members of the Editorial Board voted in favor of this piece.
