Manuscripts/7. Criminal Justice and Inmates

Overview This collection was originally part of the Bromfield Street Educational Foundation (BSEF) records. As part of its Prisoners Project efforts, the BSEF collected newsletters that were sent to them from various prisons and organizations located across the country and Canada.

Overview The Coalition to Stop Institutional Violence was founded in Boston in 1975 in response to the proposed establishment of a "special unit for violent women" at Worcester State Hospital. Comprising ex-mental patients, mental health workers, and prisoner rights groups, the Coalition launched an extensive letter-writing campaign forcing the Department of Mental Health to hold public hearings on the need for the unit. Widespread opposition to the plan prevented the unit from ever opening. The...

Overview Flora Haas was a local activist who advocated for the rights of prisoners and worked against the death penalty. She wrote numerous articles regarding the death penalty, human experimentation in prisons, and prison daycare for newspapers such as The Boston Globe, Boston Phoenix, Black Weekly, The Arlington Advocate, Sister Courage, and State and Mind. Haas was the editor and creator of The Outlook, which focused on criminal justice opinions in the commonwealth. The Outlook focused on issues...