Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center

Incidents

A riot involving 46 inmates on January 9, 2017, was triggered after they were denied showers before returning to their cells from exercise.

On January 10, 2020, an officer was surrounded in the N1 unit (north side) and severely injured. Three other officers were taken to the hospital, six inmates were immediately moved to other facilities, and criminal charges were filed against 16 inmates. In complaints and a lawsuit which triggered an investigation by state legislators, inmates alleged that corrections officers retaliated in the following weeks, including against uninvolved inmates. The complaints included unprovoked beatings and use of stun guns, positional torture, ripping out of hair, underfeeding, confiscation of all clothing, deprivation of personal property, denial of access to lawyers and legal paperwork, failure to follow procedure by videotaping raids and documenting injuries, and use of personnel from other facilities who hid their identities. Abuse allegations continued into October.

On February 11, 2020, an officer was doused with liquid and grabbed through a food slot, and then the attacking inmate set items in his room on fire.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Massachusetts, inmates were only allowed out of cells in small groups to shower and make phone calls. Under these conditions, two inmates were stabbed in a fight on April 6, 2020.

On December 12, 2025, state prosecutors in the office of the Massachusetts attorney general filed charges against two correctional officers, Stephen Cobb and Craig Lussier, for allegedly beating an inmate restrained to medical equipment, in retaliation to an alleged May 2023 beating within the correctional center. Prosecutors alleged that the two correctional officers entered the medical examination room and began to assault the inmate, causing vibrations strong enough to knock a picture off the wall.

Notable inmates

Current

• Alfred Gaynor – Convicted serial killer and rapist
• Philip Chism – Convicted of murdering his high-school math teacher Colleen Ritzer
• Brian Walshe – Convicted of murdering his wife, Ana Walshe

Former

• Joseph Druce – Was convicted of killing one man and for later killing John Geoghan
• John Geoghan – Priest convicted of assault and battery; was murdered in 2003
• Aaron Hernandez – Convicted of killing Odin Lloyd; hanged himself in 2017

References

References

1. "Weekly Inmate Count - 1/6/20".
2. [https://www.mass.gov/orgs/massachusetts-department-of-correction/locations?_page=2 Massachusetts Department of Correction Locations, page 2]
3. [https://www.mass.gov/orgs/massachusetts-department-of-correction/locations?_page=1 Massachusetts Department of Correction Locations, page 1]
4. [https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/01/20/denial-showers-preceded-prison-riot/eGj0cuYRcRPNIIaOX5OpxO/story.html Mass. prison riot began over a demand for showers]
5. [https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/01/10/metro/correctional-officer-attacked-state-prison-shirley/ Correctional officer attacked at state prison in Shirley]
6. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/02/20/metro/16-inmates-facing-criminal-charges-linked-attack-correctional-officers-souza-baranowski-prison/ 16 inmates facing criminal charges linked to attack on correctional officers at Souza-Baranowski prison]
7. [https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/02/03/metro/inmates-mass-prison-denied-full-access-attorneys-face-abuse-correctional-officers-lawsuit-says/ Inmates at Mass. prison denied full access to attorneys, face abuse from correctional officers, lawsuit says]
8. [https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/01/31/metro/brutal-crackdown-inmates-alleged-shirley-prison/ Brutal crackdown on inmates alleged at Shirley prison]
9. [https://www.wbur.org/news/2020/10/05/souza-baranowski-max-security-prisoners-mistreatment-retaliation Lawyers Allege Prisoner Mistreatment Continues At Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center]
10. [https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/02/11/metro/female-officer-souza-baranowski-assaulted-by-inmate-doc-says/ Female officer at Souza-Baranowski assaulted by inmate, DOC says]
11. [https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/06/metro/souza-baranowski-correctional-center-lockdown-after-two-inmates-stabbed/ Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center on lockdown after two inmates stabbed]
12. [https://www.telegram.com/story/news/crime/2026/01/06/souza-baranowski-prison-guards-charged-with-beating-convicted-murderer/88031944007/]
13. [http://www.mass.gov/eopss/law-enforce-and-cj/prisons/doc-facilities/souza-baranowski-correctional-center.html Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center]. Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. Accessed May 2015.