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Ending shackling in Massachusetts -- victory!
Until this year, the state of Massachusetts had no policy to protect incarcerated mothers from being put in harmful restraints (including handcuffs, leg irons, and waist chains) during the later stages of pregnancy and during and after childbirth. As a member organization of the Massachusetts Anti-shackling Coalition, the Prison Policy Initiative helped Massachusetts to become the 21st state to pass legislation to end the inhumane practice of shackling mothers who are pregnant or giving birth while incarcerated.
On May 15 2014, Governor Deval Patrick signed a bill to immediately outlaw the practice.
Testimony
- Prison Policy Initiative submitted written testimony in support of the bill to end the practice of shacking incarcerated women who are in the later stages of their pregnancies, giving birth, or in the postpartum period, December 12, 2013
In the Prison Policy Initiative blog
- Mass. anti-shackling bill signed into law, by Joe Mirkin, May 21, 2014
- Massachusetts Senate unanimously passes anti-shackling legislation!, by Leah Sakala, March 21, 2014
- It's time for Massachusetts to stop shackling incarcerated women who are giving birth, by Leah Sakala, December 12, 2013
Selected news coverage
- State should stop shackling inmates in labor, Boston Globe editorial board, March 17, 2014
- Born Free, by Maureen Turner, The Valley Advocate, December 31, 2013
- Rachel Roth's excellent blog series on MomsRising.
Members of the Massachusetts Anti-Shackling Coalition Include:
ACLU of Massachusetts, American Friends Service Committee of Western MA, Black and Pink, Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, Boston Feminists for Liberation, Casa Myrna, Civil Liberties and Public Policy, Coalition for Effective Public Safety, Dismas House—Worcester, Families for Justice as Healing, Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project, Health Care for All, Health Law Advocates, Hollaback! Boston, Jane Doe Inc—the MA Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, Jewish Alliance on Law and Social Action, JRI Health, The Law Offices of Howard Friedman, The Massachusetts Chapter of the National Organization for Women, Mount Holyoke Students Against Mass Incarceration, NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, National Lawyers Guild, Massachusetts Chapter, Out Now—Springfield, Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, Pretrial Working Group, Prison Birth Project, Prisoners’ Assistance Project at NUSL, Prisoners’ Legal Services, Prison Policy Initiative, Real Cost of Prisons Project, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Stern, Shapiro, Weissberg and Garin, LLP, And Still We Rise, Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry, The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts, Worcester Homeless Action Committee.
Recommended Reading:
Advocacy Toolkit
Resources, tips, and best practices to help advocates working to end mass incarceration.
50 state incarceration profiles
All of our recent reports about prison/jail growth, racial disparities, and more, re-organized by state.
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie
The U.S. incarcerates over 1.9 million people, more than any other country. Where are they locked up and why? Read our report.
