Nearly three times as many women are incarcerated in Massachusetts county jails as in the (in)famous MCI-Framingham state prison for women.
If you didn’t know that fact – join the club! Despite working with formerly incarcerated women for over a decade, it was only last year that I began to grasp the importance of these numbers: In May 2023, for example, there were 506 women in Massachusetts county jails vs. 186 women at MCI-Framingham (prison).
This post shares some of what I have learned about women’s jails in Massachusetts. (Here is a link to a full report prepared by the Women and Incarceration Project.) This work is just the start. Stay tuned for more!
A Bit of Background: Jails
Jails are used to incarcerate individuals sentenced to less than 2.5 years and people loosely classified as “pretrial”. (Prisons are used to incarcerate individuals sentenced to 2.5 years or more.)
Approximately two thirds of people in Massachusetts jails are classified as “pre-trial” – a catch-all category largely consisting of individuals who are waiting for a hearing, plea bargain or trial. These individuals have NOT been found guilty or sentenced for a crime. Other “pre-trial” individuals are held due to probation violations or are waiting for a bed to become available in a drug treatment program.
Pre-trial women spend anywhere from a day to several months (occasionally more) in jail. The average length of stay in jail for sentenced women is approximately 4 and 1/2 months.
To put it in plain language, these women are not considered dangers to society. With very few exceptions, nearly all are released within weeks or months.
A Bit of Background: Sheriffs
Massachusetts jails are under the jurisdiction of county sheriffs. (Prisons are under the jurisdiction of the State Department of Correction.)
There are no county mechanisms for oversight of jails nor does the State — which funds the jails — exercise substantial oversight.
Each sheriff, elected by county residents, determines policies for his (occasionally, her) jail.
Sheriffs have the authority to release many of the people under their supervision on day reporting, GPS monitoring (ELMO) , and work release programs. Despite this authority, very few women are released.
Women in Massachusetts Jails
Nearly all women in county jails suffer from chronic mental, physical and reproductive health challenges.
Many jailed women have experienced abuse, violence or exploitation, often starting in childhood.
The population of women in jails trends substantially younger than women in prison. The majority of jailed women are in their childbearing and childrearing year, and are mothers of young children.
Even short stays in jail have adverse consequences for women and their families. These include shifting children into the care of others (grandparents, foster care, etc.) and disrupting women’s relationships with therapists and other healthcare providers as well as their medication regimes.
Postscript: How I (Involuntarily) Dramatized the Consequences of Medication Disruption
Last month I had the opportunity to share research on women and jails at a briefing with legislators at the Massachusetts State House. Partway through my presentation I began to cough. I sipped my water, stuck a cough drop in my mouth, and kept talking. The cough became worse, and worse. Finally, gasping for air and unable to speak, I tossed my lecture notes at the first person I saw (Rep. Ruth Balser) and lurched, red-faced, out of the briefing room.
A bit of background: A few months ago the asthma medicine I had used for years was removed — without notice — from my health insurance’s formulary. When I needed a refill it took almost a month to get the insurance company, pharmacy, and doctor on the same page for an alternative medication. My frightening — and embarrassing — asthma attack at the State House was a consequence of this disruption.
I’m not usually one to make lemonade out of lemons. But now that the panic (and embarrassment) have ebbed I’m allowing myself to hope that my real-time demonstration of the dangers of medication disruption, together with the research presented that day, will remain in legislators’ minds when it comes time to vote for bills to halt the expansion of jails and prisons.
For more on jails, see this essay by intern Maya Laur.