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| Prisoners relocated after cell doors malfunction |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 08/01/2005 |
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Mass. correction officials said last Tuesday they didn't know why a cell door in a state prison's maximum security wing suddenly opened, allowing an inmate to briefly exit his cell and leading to the transfer of more than 100 prisoners to other facilities. The Department of Correction has hired a consultant to help find out what led to the malfunction last Monday night and said the Department Disciplinary Unit at MCI-Cedar Junction would remain closed until it was determined what went wrong. "In the interest of staff safety and public safety, it is imperative that the DDU be closed until the problem can be identified and a solution implemented," said Correction Commissioner Kathleen Dennehy in a statement. Last Monday, two officers were nearby when the cell door inexplicably opened around 7 p.m. The inmate walked out into the hallway, and the officers sealed off that section of the prison. The prisoner voluntarily returned to his cell without incident. Later that night, two of the cell block's exit doors also spontaneously opened, but no inmates were out of their cells at the time. At 3:45 a.m. last Tuesday, correction officials began relocating 106 inmates from the maximum security wing and 56 inmates from another cell block at Cedar Junction. By 11:50 a.m, the inmates had been relocated to MCI-Norfolk, the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center and different units within the Cedar Junction facility. The opening of the cell door last Monday followed a series of incidents in which inmates at MCI-Cedar Junction have managed to pry open doors. Department of Correction spokeswoman Diane Wiffin said seven written complaints were received from prison employees in the last week complaining about the malfunctioning doors in the prison's high-security unit. She declined to provide details of those complaints, but said they had been resolved. According to the department's statement, there have been three types of incidents resulting in door problems at Cedar Junction's maximum security wing: mechanical malfunctions due to wear and tear, electrical malfunctions, and operator or staff error. What distinguishes last Monday's incident from the others, the statement said, "is that at this point, the DOC is unable to determine a cause for the doors opening." |
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