Opinion ID: 2761209
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The DOC's Security Report

Text: On April 25, 2005, the district court issued an order requiring that the DOC conduct a review of any potential safety and security concerns arising from the provision of SRS. In the next month, the DOC worked to formalize its security concerns into a report, which it eventually submitted to the court on June 10, 2005. As made clear by the minutes of the DOC's staff meetings, however, these security issues were a topic of discussion prior to the court's order. Previously, on January 5, 2005, the meeting attendees had discussed how and if Kosilek's prior violent acts against her wife should impact their evaluation and treatment plan. On April 20, 2005, the parties discussed potential security concerns that would arise should Kosilek be housed, post-surgery, in MCI-Framingham, Massachusetts' only female prison. During that meeting, DOC personnel noted that they were prepared to provide an -16- evaluation of general climate and security concerns implicated by the provision of surgery. On May 19, 2005, DOC Commissioner Kathleen Dennehy (Dennehy) convened a meeting with the Superintendent of MCINorfolk, Luis Spencer (Spencer), and the Superintendent of MCIFramingham, Lynne Bissonnette (Bissonnette), as well as the DOC's legal counsel. The purpose of this meeting was to formally discuss the security concerns previously expressed by both superintendents in phone conversations with Dennehy. It was also an opportunity to begin preparation of the report requested by the district court. The report focused mainly on issues of safety and security surrounding Kosilek's post-operative housing. Dennehy conveyed concern regarding housing Kosilek at MCI-Norfolk, noting that approximately twenty-five percent of male offenders in the Massachusetts prison system are classified as sex offenders and concluding that Kosilek would clearly be a target for assault and victimization in a male prison. The report also expressed concerns with housing Kosilek at MCI-Framingham, including the absence of single-bed cells, such that all inmates had to share cells, and the possibility that Kosilek's presence might exacerbate mental distress among the significant portion of MCI-Framingham's population that had previously experienced domestic abuse and trauma at the hands of male partners. -17- Given the stated infeasibility of housing Kosilek in the general population of either MCI-Framingham or MCI-Norfolk, the report considered segregated housing in a protected ward. It expressed concern, however, about the possible deleterious impact on Kosilek's mental health caused by any housing solution that required long-term isolation. The report also noted that it was not within the DOC's ability to create a special ward for prisoners with GID, given that these prisoners present a significant range of criminal histories, security ratings, and treatment needs that are antithetical to co-housing. On June 10, 2005, citing both its internal review of safety and security and Osborne's reported concerns regarding the appropriateness of SRS, the DOC informed the district court that it had chosen to continue Kosilek's current ameliorative treatment, but not to provide her with SRS.