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| Special panel investigates inmates' deaths |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 09/02/2004 |
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A special panel will probe the handling of two inmates -- one now charged with murder in the other's death -- by the Mass. prison system, corrections officials announced Wednesday. Correction Commissioner Kathleen Dennehy and Dr. Elizabeth Childs, commissioner of the Department of Mental Health, will convene the panel to investigate the cases of Bradley Burns and William Mosher.Burns, 29, was arraigned Monday in Brockton District Court on a murder charge in the slaying of Mosher, 32, who was found dead Saturday in his cell at Bridgewater State Hospital, the state psychiatric hospital run by the prison system. Both men were being held there for psychiatric evaluations. A plea of innocent was entered on Burns' behalf pending additional evaluation. "Given the uniqueness of the facility and the circumstances surrounding the death of patient William Mosher, it is critical that we conduct an in-depth analysis of the events leading up to the alleged homicide," Dennehy said in a statement. She also promised to "continue our commitment to be open and transparent about how we operate." James Pingeon, litigation director for Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services, an organization that provides legal services to inmates, said he applauded the decision. "I think it shows that they're taking this seriously and they want to make sure that there were no systemic failures that led to this death," he said. He said he hoped that the panel would look more broadly, if necessary, at the operations of Bridgewater and the mental health system in the Department of Correction, in general. Mosher was found strangled Saturday on the floor of his cell. Burns, who was at the 340-bed facility while awaiting trial, allegedly first called attention to Mosher by telling guards there was a dead body in his cell. Mosher, who was originally from Arizona, was awaiting trial on a 1999 drug charge. Burns was awaiting trial on charges of assault and battery on a person over 60, and also was wanted on warrants from Brookline District Court on charges of attempted murder, kidnapping and assault and battery, officials said. The corrections department said the review would focus on the clinical care and treatment of the two men and the intersection between clinical and security protocols. |
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