By Bob Katzen

This bill would prohibit any prisoner from being transferred to other states and being required to work on labor projects in that state. The measure was first filed in 2017 when former Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson was planning to transport Bristol County prisoners across state lines to the nation’s southern border to help build former President Trump’s proposed border wall.

“I simply believe it is in the best interests of Massachusetts residents, both morally and financially, for our criminal justice system and our county correctional facilities to be focused on the successful rehabilitation of inmates within their community,” said sponsor Rep. Tony Cabral (D-New Bedford). “To the extent prison work programs have value, the return from those programs should be recouped in our local communities, right here in the commonwealth and not on chain gangs in Texas.”