Democratic societies need prisons – so the argument goes — as the harsh side of rule of law. No one is equal before the law, a key premise of democracy, if rules are broken without consequences. In this way, equality tempers freedom, allowing a justification for incarceration.
But prisons do not protect rule of […]
Continue Reading →A new case filed against Massachusetts’ Department of Correction presents stunning allegations of brutality against incarcerated men at Souza Baranowski Correctional Center. Why hasn’t it received more attention?
Continue Reading →By Chidi Odinkalu, Paulos Tesfagiorgis, Alex de Waal and Delia Burns
In March, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) established a joint investigation into alleged violations of human rights committed during the conflict in Tigray, Ethiopia. Controversially, the partner was the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC). The decision has been heavily criticized […]
Continue Reading →The Massachusetts legislature is considering a bill that place a 5-year moratorium on building new prisons in the state. On June 20, 2021, the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight held a hearing on the proposed legislation, inviting public testimony. I spoke — alongside impressive and often deeply moving testimony from around 50 […]
Continue Reading →On May 16th, 2021, dozens of Israeli aircrafts were involved in the bombing of what the Israeli air-force described as “homes and offices” of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza. This included two entire apartment buildings. The total number of people killed in the airstrikes in Al-Wihda street that night was 43; of them, […]
Continue Reading →Why is it important to have clarity and consistency in data, especially related to deaths? In the first instance, all people deserve dignity in death, no matter the situation or circumstances of dying. At the most basic level, their deaths count; and the accounting should be accurate. People who died while incarcerated were the under direct care and responsibility of the state. Because the state has claimed this responsibility, the lives – and deaths – of incarcerated people are of public concern. Further, these numbers are not overwhelming. There is no reason that the DOC should be unable to produce an accurate public record. Finally, while it has been extremely difficult to verify the accuracy of information released by the DOC on some matters, like testing and positive cases, the inaccuracies regarding deaths give credence to concerns that the overall data DOC has released on the COVID-19 outbreaks in Massachusetts’ prisons contains flaws.
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