Bill > H2843

This bill proposes to amend existing Massachusetts law, specifically Section 38B of chapter 127, to clarify penalties for certain felonies committed by individuals in correctional facilities, such as jails, houses of correction, or state prisons. The changes introduce new provisions that establish mandatory consecutive prison sentences for inmates involved in unlawful, riotous, or tumultuous assemblies within these facilities. Specifically, if two or more inmates are involved in such an assembly and commit assault or assault and battery against facility staff, volunteers, contractors, or other inmates, each participant faces a prison sentence of five to twenty years, served after their current sentence. Similarly, if such an assembly results in the destruction of facility property valued at fifty dollars or more, each participant can be imprisoned for up to five years, also served consecutively. Furthermore, if inmates in such an assembly refuse or neglect a lawful order from authorized facility personnel or contractors, they can be punished by imprisonment for up to two and a half years, served consecutively. The term "consecutive" means that this new sentence would be added to the end of any sentence the inmate is currently serving, rather than running at the same time.