Special Legislative Commission Recommends Major Changes to Dismantle Structural Racism in Correctional Facilities of the Commonwealth

Commission finds unfair treatment by race and other identities, makes recommendations for legislative, corrections policy, and governor & administration responses

Boston, MA – State Senator Jamie Eldridge (D-Marlborough) and former State Representative Nika Elugardo (D-Boston), co-chairs of the Special Legislative Commission on Structural Racism in Correctional Facilities of the Commonwealth, announced that the Commission had filed its final report. The 71-page report includes findings of structural racism and unfair treatment by race and other intersecting identities in correctional facilities and makes 10 major recommendations to dismantle structural racism in corrections through legislative, corrections policy, and governor & administration responses. 

The Commission finds that structural racism in policies, practices, and culture produces or perpetuates unfair treatment and impacts by race and other intersecting identities, such as LGBTQ+ or immigrant status. The Commission identifies four distinct but overlapping types of racism:

• Institutional Racism: Corrections Policies

• Systematic Racism: External System Impacts

• Interpersonal Racism: Corrections Relationships

• Internalized Racism: Corrections Culture

The Commission finds that disparate treatment caused by structural racism in correctional facilities can be dismantled with an intentional partnership between the Legislative and Executive branches, supported by leadership from diverse Corrections community members. The Commission makes the following major recommendations:

Legislative Recommendations

1. Review existing bills recommended by the Commission

2. Draft new omnibus Corrections legislation 

3. Draft new public health legislation

Corrections Policy Recommendations

1. Update data collection policies and standards

2. Develop infrastructure to innovate programs and services

3. Update staff hiring, training, and accountability infrastructure

4. Intentional corrections culture development

Governor and Administration Recommendations

1. Mandate public data and media technology supports

2. Facilitate increased inter-agency partnership

3. Expand budget transparency and target financial support

“Eliminating racial disparities and dismantling structural racism within our correctional facilities are forefront in not only creating a more just criminal justice system for people of color within the system but to establishing a more just society in Massachusetts for all,” said State Senator Jamie Eldridge, Senator Chair of the Commission (D- Marlborough). “For more than a year, the Special Legislative Commission on Structural Racism in Correctional Facilities has heard direct accounts from experts, Commissioners, correctional officers and staff, and formerly incarcerated individuals who have been impacted by structural racism and inequity in Massachusetts correctional settings. It is my hope that the insights and recommendations that this report provides will produce a path forward for a more just and equitable correctional system in Massachusetts.”

"It has been an incredible honor to be tasked by the Massachusetts Legislature to begin the work of dismantling structural racism in our correctional facilities. Dismantling structural racism in Corrections can be the beginning of the end of institutionalized hate in the Commonwealth,” said former State Representative Nika Elugardo (D-Boston), House Co-Chair of the Commission. This report and its recommendations were crafted with collaborative leadership from current and formerly incarcerated persons, correctional officers and staff, community leaders, legislators, and administrators. It seeks not only to dismantle structural inequity but also to replace it with healthy systems that breathe life and healing into our communities. I pray the work of these dedicated Commissioners and their partners lay the groundwork to prepare all members of the Corrections community for success."

The full report can be viewed by visiting this link.

###