The Massachusetts Department of Correction has reached a proposed settlement of $6.75 million in a class-action lawsuit from inmates at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center. This stems from grave allegations of excessive force and brutality by correctional officers, particularly targeting inmates of color. The case was filed in federal court by Prisoners' Legal Services of Massachusetts, highlighting claims of intentional harm inflicted on inmates. The settlement still requires court approval and includes compensation for attorney fees, with the remainder allocated to around 150 former and current inmates as relief for the alleged brutality they faced.
This brutality included beating and kicking prisoners; gouging eyes; grabbing testicles; smashing faces into the ground or wall; deploying Taser guns, pepper ball guns, and other chemical agents; and order K9s to menace and bite prisoners.
The Retaliatory Force Campaign consisted of weeks of unprovoked, retaliatory violence at SBCC prisoners, and amounted to an unlawful, orchestrated effort to intimidate, injure, and violate the rights of prisoners in retaliation.
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