BRIDGEWATER, MASS. (WHDH) - While prosecutors are arguing against the potential release of thousands of prison and jail inmates, defense attorneys say the move is necessary to keep the inmates safe from coronavirus.
The Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments over the phone Tuesday regarding the proposed release plan. According to the state Department of Correction, 17 inmates have tested positive for the coronavirus at MTC Bridgewater, with five corrections staff and one medical provider also testing positive.
The Committee for Public Counsel Services and Mass. Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed an emergency petition arguing for the release, saying conditions in prisons and jails are ripe for spreading the virus.
“Before COVID we were overcrowded,” said Chauncey Wood of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. “And … the picture to convey, is people bunked together in a very tiny cell. People eating elbow to elbow.”
The advocates want the release of inmates who are pre-trial and held on $5,000 bail or less, or have no more than six months left on their sentence. But seven of the state’s district attorneys and all of the state’s sheriffs argued that a blanket release of inmates would endanger the public.
“We have a number of people that are being held on assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery on a family member, and domestic violence cases, violation of restraining orders,” said Norfolk District Attorney Mike Morrissey. “I would consider those people pretty dangerous.”
An attorney involved with the case said a decision is expected within 24 to 48 hours.
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