Massachusetts Correctional Institution – Framingham (MCI - Framingham) is the Massachusetts Department of Correction's institution for female offenders. It is located in Framingham, Massachusetts, a city located midway between

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. The prison was once known as "Framingham State Prison". However, MCI Framingham is its official name and is favored. As of May 2022 there are approximately 190 inmates in general population beds.

History

US-MA(1891) p352 SHERBORN, REFORMATORY PRISON FOR WOMAN

The prison opened in 1877 and was the second prison for women opened in the U.S. Several references note it as the oldest female correctional institution (of those still in operation) in the United States. Its original name was the Sherborn Reformatory for Women, because at the time of its establishment it was located in that town. In 1924, the town of Framingham acquired 565 acres in Sherborn, including the prison and its grounds. The reformatory aimed not only to incarcerate but to change the lives of inmates through work and other productive activities. The women worked a large farm and in later years other trades and manufacturing enterprises were tried. Visitors came to learn from the practices of the reformatory and its leaders. Several of its superintendents were well-known prison reformers including

Ellen Cheney Johnson Ellen Cheney Johnson (December 20, 1829 – June 28, 1899) was an American prison reformer. She founded the New England Women's Auxiliary Association to the United States Sanitary Commission, worked with homeless and vagrant women after the Civil ...

(1884–1899), Jessie Donaldson Hodder (1911–1932), and

Miriam Van Waters Miriam Van Waters (October 4, 1887 – January 17, 1974) was an American prison reformer of the early to mid-20th century whose methods owed much to her upbringing as an Episcopalian involved in the Social Gospel movement. During her career as a ...

(1932–1957). The prison's best-known superintendent, however, was

Clara Barton Clarissa Harlowe Barton (December 25, 1821 – April 12, 1912) was an American nurse who founded the American Red Cross. She was a hospital nurse in the American Civil War, a teacher, and a patent clerk. Since nursing education was not then very ...

, who served for eight months during a leave from her work with the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

. The prison also employed female guards and physicians, and included both men and women among its board of visitors. Among the inmates who served time at Framingham were the 19th century bandits from the

Oklahoma Territory The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as th ...

known as Little Britches and

Cattle Annie Anna Emmaline McDoulet, known as Cattle Annie (November 29, 1882 – November 7, 1978), was a young American outlaw in the American Old West, most associated with Jennie Stevens, or Little Britches (outlaw), Little Britches. Their exploits ar ...

, depicted in the 1981 film, ''

Cattle Annie and Little Britches ''Cattle Annie and Little Britches'' is a 1981 Western film starring Burt Lancaster, John Savage, Rod Steiger, Diane Lane, and Amanda Plummer, based on the lives of two adolescent girls in late 19th-century Oklahoma Territory, who became inf ...

''.

Covid cases

Pursuant to the Supreme Judicial Court’s April 3, 2020 Opinion and Order in the Committee for Public Counsel Services v. Chief Justice of the Trial Court, SJC-12926 matter, as amended on April 10, April 28 and June 23, 2020 (the “Order”), the Special Master posts weekly reports which are located on the SJC websit
here
for COVID testing and cases for each of the correctional facilities administered by the Department of Correction and each of the county Sheriffs’ offices. The SJC Special master link above has the most up to date information reported by the correctional agencies and is posted for the public to view.

MCI-Framingham today

MCI-Framingham is currently a medium-security correctional facility for female offenders. The prison houses both state and county offenders, as well as those awaiting sentencing. There are prisoners of a variety of classification levels. Sixty-three percent of the inmates are there for non-violent offenses, most often involving drugs. Some female inmates arrested in the

area are incarcerated at Boston's South Bay House of Correction under the

Suffolk County Sheriff's Department Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowestof ...

.South Bay House of Correction
- Suffolk Country Sheriff's Department website

References

External links

- Commonwealth of Massachusetts prison information, Official Website of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS)
"More Women Prisoners"

WBUR WBUR-FM (90.9 FM) is a public radio station located in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by Boston University. It is the largest of three NPR member stations in Boston, along with WGBH and WUMB-FM and produces several nationally distributed program ...

, 2000, Trustees of Boston University. Radio Interview with MCI – Framingham Prison Superintendent. {{DEFAULTSORT:Framingham, Correctional Institution Buildings and structures in Framingham, Massachusetts Prisons in Massachusetts Women's prisons in the United States 1877 establishments in Massachusetts

History

Covid cases

MCI-Framingham today

See also

References

External links