Framingham, MCI (Massachusetts Correctional Institution)

Inmate Characteristics

The state's female inmate population differs from the male population in several ways. As of January 1, 2002, the state DOC had 9,610 inmates under its jurisdiction. Six percent of these people were women (535) and 94% (9,075) were men. While approximately 78% of females in the state system are white and 21% are black, the male population is characterized as 66% white and 32% black. The age difference between the populations is reflected not only in the average age of the inmates, 35.7 years for the females and 36.8 years for the males, but also in the range of ages. Males ranged from 16 to 86 years, while females ranged from 18 to 71. Women, generally considered to engage in less violent crime than men, were convicted of more drug crimes (35%) than person offenses (32%). In contrast, nearly half of all male inmates (49%) were incarcerated for person offenses, followed by 20% for drug offenses and 19% for sex offenses.

Conditions

For many years, all of Massachusetts' prisons operated above capacity. In response, the state mandated the DOC commissioner in 1985 to issue a quarterly report on the status of overcrowding in all state and county facilities. From these data, it can be seen that Framingham continues to suffer from serious crowding issues. For example, the ATU has operated at approximately 200% above capacity for more than two decades. The medium-security facility has remained steady at just over 125% capacity according to the state's data for the same time period.

Inmates live in two types of housing at Framingham: cells and dormitories; both are forced to accommodate more inmates than they were designed to hold. Overcrowded dorms are not only noisier and more stressful for inmates, they also place a greater demand on the security staff members whose responsibility is to watch all the inmates in the room. The size of Framingham's inmate population also requires that some women live double-celled, where two women live in a cell space originally built for one.

Health Care

Health care at Framingham has long been criticized. While a series of hearings and studies in the 1980s called for radical changes, criticism of its inmate care continued to grow. Recently, the University of Massachusetts Medical School was awarded the contract to provide both mental and physical health care services. It is hoped that this local teaching institution will have increased accountability and provide improved services.

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