State Sen. Liz Miranda wants Gov. Healey to take action after a 32-year-old prisoner died during an incident that Miranda described as a “potential homicide” at the Suffolk County House of Correction at South Bay on Dec. 8.
In a letter sent on Monday, Miranda highlighted the death of Shacoby DeAndre “Coby” Kenny as the latest instance of concern in Massachusetts jails and prisons. She called on Healey and her administration to support legislation aimed at toughening oversight of facilites and corrections officers.
“For too long, the lack of independent oversight of Massachusetts jails and prisons has contributed to systemic dysfunction and lackluster responses to reports of mistreatment of incarcerated people,” Miranda wrote.
“Whether by legislation or regulatory changes, I am writing to request your support for the establishment of independent correctional oversight and an Inspector General for Massachusetts’s state prisons and houses of corrections.”
Miranda’s letter is addressed to both Healey and the state’s Secretary of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, Gina K. Kwon.
News accounts of the South Bay fatality have reported that Kenny became unresponsive after an altercation with prison guards. He died at a nearby hospital the next day. The Globe reported on Dec. 27 that other inmates have described prison guards beating Kenny during a chaotic fracas in the facility’s cafeteria.
Miranda said that Kenny’s death should not be investigated by the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, which manages that facility.
“How can law enforcement impartially investigate mistreatment by law enforcement?” Miranda asks, adding: “There is no accountability in this.”
Miranda, a 45-year-old Roxbury native, represents parts of Dorchester and Roxbury in the Second Suffolk district. Her father and brothers were incarcerated, she noted, and several of her friends have served time in prison.
Kenny’s death, she said, “hits at the heart of both” her personal story and work in the Legislature.
“I’ve used my personal experience to guide me in my public role. With this weight on my shoulders, I feel compelled, in this moment, to ask for your support,” wrote Miranda to Healey in citing three pending pieces of legislation: S. 1723, S.1724, and S.1725.
Two of the bills would establish an independent Inspector General to oversee state prisons, while the third would create a certification system for correctional officers.
“To stop patterns of misconduct and violence at the hands of correctional officers, we need an independent agency or agencies with the power to hold our correctional institutions accountable through decertification, demotion, fines, data collection, and all necessary tools to conduct investigations into misconduct,” said Miranda.
“People shouldn’t die while being retrained and while in the custody of Massachusetts.”
