MCI-Framingham Unit To Be Suspended Temporarily: DOC

FRAMINGHAM, MA — The South Middlesex Correctional Center (SMCC) unit at MCI-Framingham will be temporarily closed within 60 days, leading to the release or moving of about 26 inmates, according to the Department of Corrections.

The SMCC unit houses about 14 percent of the prison's total population, and is typically reserved for minimum security inmates, or those who are about to be released. The inmates will either go to another minimum security facility in the state or into home confinement.

A full closure of MCI-Framingham has been up for discussion. Last February, former Secretary of Public Safety Thomas Turco reportedly said the prison would close by 2024, with inmates being transferred to the Bay State Correctional Center, a former medium security men's prison in Norfolk.

But the SMCC is being suspended to help create space as the prison system grapples with the second coronavirus surge, according to officials. On top of the SMCC suspension, the minimum security housing at MCI-Shirley — which holds about 166 people — will also be suspended.

As of Jan. 7, just over 5,400 prisoners and DOC staff had tested positive for coronavirus dating back to March, according to state data. Sixteen prisoners have died of the virus since last spring, but none so far at MCI-Framingham.