Justice Department Alleges Massachusetts Department Of Corrections Fails To Provide Adequate Response For Inmates In Mental Health Crisis

An investigation by U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts found that the Massachusetts Department of Correction (MDOC) failed to provide adequate supervision and mental health care to prisoners in mental health crisis. MDOC houses prisoners in mental health crisis in restrictive housing conditions. As a result of these failures and conditions, prisoners in mental health crisis have engaged in self-harm and have died or seriously injured themselves while on mental health watch. The DOJ alleged that conditions at MDOC facilities violate the Eighth Amendment . . .