Prisoner Rights Activist Sent To Solitary On False Charges

On Wednesday March 23, 2016, in the middle of the night, well-known prisoner rights activist, Timothy J. Muise was whisked away from MCI Shirley in a transport van; while simultaneously two of Muise's friends, Shawn Fisher and Steven James were also placed in two other vans. All were taken to different segregation units around the state. Muise ended up in "The Hole" at MCI Norfolk.

The following day investigators from the Commissioner of Corrections office informed Muise that he was being investigated for a "Plot to Build a Computer." The unbelievable allegations are completely untrue and fabricated out of whole cloth in an overt effort to silence the work Muise was doing with the Legislative Harm Reduction Caucus. Muise and his associates had conducted two separate meetings with the Caucus.

One held on October 23, 2015 and one held on February 26, 2016. The goal of these first two meetings was for Muise and his associates to establish themselves as experts before the Caucus, with the ultimate goal of the Caucus summoning the prisoner's to the State House to testify before the Public Safety Committee.

After the February 26, 2016 round-table discussion meeting with the Caucus, it was decided, unanimously that the Caucus would move to bring prisoner's to the State House to testify. Prison officials were extremely incensed as a result of these meetings for two reasons; 1) the organization of these two meetings were done without involving prison officials who had previously attempted to thwart the effort and; 2) at the two meetings, it was made clear that Muise and his associates were exposing Department of Corrections failures and draconian abuses, while calling for a complete overhaul of the system which currently produces a 50% recidivism rate. The Department clearly dispatched their abuse by fabricating a bold-faced lie to lock Muise and his associates away in solitary confinement.

The work of these men is extremely progressive and vital to the modern push for effective criminal justice reform. The actions of the Department of Corrections should be abhorrent to any free society and cannot be allowed to stand as they are indicative of the grand scale of corrections abuses which have castrated and compromised the system far too long. We need for you to immediately contact the Office of Governor Charles Baker and the Secretary of Public Safety, Daniel Bennet and demand the immediate release of Muise, Fisher, and James.

You can contact me directly at:

Timothy J. Muise #W66927
PO Box 43
Norfolk, MA 02056-0043