By Caroline Bays, a member of the PM Board, PM Issues Committee, and Progressive Watertown

Thank you, Mr Chairman and all of you, for hearing my testimony today on S.1979 / H.1795, an act that would establish a five-year moratorium on building new prisons. 

I am usually before you as a Watertown city councilor or as a board member on behalf of Progressive Massachusetts. But today I  am here on behalf of my dear friend who has spent the last 16 of his 35 years in prison. 

Six years ago, I had a life-changing event when I was asked to visit this young man who was experiencing a mental health crisis. As a result, I have seen up close how dysfunctional, counter-productive, and destructive prisons are to the human beings who live within those walls. 

Prisons no longer even pay lip service to rehabilitation; they are designed purely for punishment. They no longer try to help people get back on their feet and become productive members of our society. The stories I have heard–the danger, harm, cruelty, and viciousness he has experienced are destructive not just to him but to our society and who we are as a state. 

Prisons as they are currently structured do not make us safer–they make us less safe. And we are harming the most vulnerable members of our society–people who need help. We are putting people who are mentally ill in prison; we are putting people who are addicted to drugs in prison; we are putting people who are experiencing dire poverty in prison. 

Since when did we decide that it was morally right to treat those who need our help as criminals and deny them the support and treatment they need? Whom does it help? This is cruel to those impacted and actually decreases our safety. 

I urge you to help us look for solutions that will benefit everyone–the incarcerated people and the general public.