Public Meeting Notice  Special Commission to Study LGBTQI Inmate Health and Safety Meeting

SPECIAL COMMISSION TO STUDY LGBTQI INMATE HEALTH AND SAFETY

Date: October 27, 2021

Time: 11:00AM-1:00PM

Place: Microsoft Teams (Virtual Meeting)

Members Present:

Co-Chair Mitzi Peterson

Co-Chair Pamela Klein

Lizz Matos, Esq.

David Mills

Michael Cox

Jennifer Levi, Esq.

Casey Lepisto

Sheriff Patrick Cahillane

Members Absent:

None

Call to Order

Co-Chair Pam Klein called the meeting to order at 11:04AM.

September 8, 2021 Minutes Review/Vote

Michael Cox requested an amendment to the minutes to clarify that under Public Comment, “enabling statute” should be replaced with “2020 State House budget”.

Attorney Jennifer Levi requested an amendment to the minutes to reflect a conversation regarding an individual that met with the Commission with significant medical STI and other health issues that occurred during the Middlesex Site Visit Recap Discussion which was not captured in the meeting minutes.

Co-Chair Klein made a motion approve the minutes with the above amendments. The motion was seconded by Co-Chair Peterson. The minutes were approved unanimously.

Anya Marino, Esq., Alex Ropes, and Hannah Wallach - Harvard Law School LGBTQ Advocacy Clinic

Attorney Marino stated that the Clinic is excited at the prospect of continuing to work with this Commission. They plan to assist in streamlining all the information the Commission has collected during facility site visits to identify trends. Attorney Marino said she does have some notes from meeting minutes regarding site visits but would prefer to have actual notes from site visits from Commission members for better authenticity. With respect to concerns that incarcerated persons that speak with Commission members may have concerns about reprisal, Attorney Marino stated that Harvard has a robust data classification and privacy practice in place. Attorney Marino clarified that her team would not be doing a credibility assessment of the information as they are reviewing a cold record. Co-chair Klein clarified that the interviews are conducted with staff as well as incarcerated folks. She also asked how Commission members feel about sending their notes to Harvard with incarcerated persons names and other information redacted. Attorney Levi stated that the Commission has had important visits and conversations with staff and incarcerated folks, but it is unfortunate they did not lay out a process to capturing this early on. She asked if the Clinic can work individually with members on getting their notes and also having conversations with members individually for further context and detail. Attorney Lizz Matos noted that in terms of the credibility piece, she is hoping that applies to all individuals interviewed whether it be staff or incarcerated folks. David Mills thanked everyone for their participation and said he is glad to have Harvard back working with the Commission. He stated his concern over confidentiality and wished to define the role and partnership with Harvard. He noted his concern about the quality and competency of evidence being used to make recommendations. Michael responded that he did not want to produce a watered-down report and wanted to make clear that this Commission is trying to be as transparent as possible. Sheriff Cahillane commented that we need to arrive at factual information in the report and he that is how he interpreted David’s sentiment and that it was not in an effort to obscure the truth. Attorney Levi proposed that members provide redacted direct communication with interviewees to Harvard. Attorney Marino acknowledged all concerns and noted that these are self-reported communications. Casey Lepisto stated that the individuals that participated in interviews were assured of complete confidentiality but the Commission did relay they would be sharing their comments with other entities and they still consented. She also noted that a lot of folks were waiting to speak to the commission and were not able to. Co-chair Klein asked for the best way to set up meetings with individual Commission members. Attorney Marino responded that folks can reach out to her if they wish to relay additional information to Harvard. Attorney Levi noted that there were follow up emails or communications from incarcerated folks to former Co-chair Jennifer Gaffney for the Commission and they should be disseminated. Co-chair Peterson will locate them to get the information to the Clinic.

Attorney Levi said that one of the reasons she was excited in joining the Commission was having the ability to meet with staff, incarcerated individuals, and others. She said that the Commission has been hindered by the process which was to have the meetings take place with subgroups of individuals including the DOC and wondered if we can allow the full Commission to participate in a site visit all at once.

Casey noted that we need to discuss whether Harvard can go alone to facilities or if the Harvard team can attend visits in addition to Commission members. Co-chair Peterson stated she will look into of that further. Attorney Marino stated she would be willing to attend site visits in person and would require some coordination and they would not be able to join until the spring given they are in the middle of a semester.

Under Door Surveys

Sheriff Cahillane relayed that there were concerns raised on how best to transmit the survey data. Attorney Walker and Michaela Martini expanded on the concerns of the Massachusetts Sheriffs Association and Attorney Walker agreed to speak with the Executive Director of the MSA, Carrie Hill, to resolve the issue.

Michael wondered if we should be using the word anonymous instead of confidential in the surveys and in conversations with incarcerated folks as that is more accurate. Attorney Walker agreed that would be best.

Site Visits

Another poll will be sent to attempt to secure a date in November to go to the Hampden County facilities.

The Commission wished to plan future visits to Plymouth and Barnstable.

Adjourn

Co-Chair Klein made a motion to adjourn. Michael seconded the motion. The meeting adjourned at 12:47PM.

1. Call to Order
2. September 8^th 2021 Meeting Minutes Review/Vote
3. Attorney Anya A. Marino, Clinical Instructor, LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic at Harvard Law School
4. Previous Site Visit(s) Review
5. “Under Door” Survey Updates
6. Site Visits Scheduling Update 
7. Public Comment
8. Adjourn