Scores of people took to the local women’s prison over the weekend to speak out against a proposal, which was announced by Governor Maura Healey this summer, to renovate the facility. The plan is estimated to cost $360 million.
FRAMINGHAM - Community members gathered in front of MCI-Framingham this past Saturday, September 13, to voice their opposition to a renovation plan for the local women’s prison.
Scores of people—including previously incarcerated women at MCI-Framingham, which was initially built in 1877—took part in the FreeHer March. Chants of “bring her home” and “keep her home” were recorded during the protest.
Back in June, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey announced that $20.5 million from the state’s capital budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year would be allocated to a renovation project at the Framingham prison. The plan, which is expected to cost a total of $360 million, shows that MCI-Framingham—which had 218 inmates as of this May—would be downsized from 260,000 to 200,000 square feet. The number of beds at the site would also be reduced through the scope of work. State officials said this summer that they are aiming to create a “campus-like setting,” with medical, mental health, educational, and job training resources featured as a part of their vision.
Healey and her administration have stated that they’re looking to focus on rehabilitation for those incarcerated.
“It represents an investment in people, a commitment to second chances, and a responsibility to build a safer future for communities statewide,” Healey’s statement in June read.
Critics voiced their opposition immediately following the announcement in June.
Leaders for Families for Justice as Healing, a Massachusetts-based organization that is part of the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, believe the project would be a “misuse” of tax money while failing to address the number of concerns opponents have regarding the conditions for women who are held at MCI-Framingham—including sexual misconduct, a lack of nutritious meals, and overall mismanagement at the facility.
In a letter addressed to Healey, opponents of the renovation plan—along with any proposal to develop a new or renovated prison in Framingham—called upon state leaders to “prioritize policy change” and to invest money into other initiatives aimed at reform, healing, and other resources that will keep women safe. They have requested a meeting with Healey to let their thoughts be known.
“We were never concerned with the physical structure of Framingham—we were concerned with the violence, control, and dehumanization embedded in the system itself,” the letter said.
“No new building can fix what is fundamentally broken.”
Families for Justice as Healing also pointed to the initial $50 million estimate to build a women’s prison in Norfolk from 2019 compared to the new $360 million plan in Framingham.
Families for Justice as Healing has called for increased clemency and pathways to parole at MCI-Framingham, contending that more women should be released—including those who are elderly, sick, survivors of abuse, and those with “significant injustices in their sentencing.” The state’s announcement from June noted that 42% of the MCI-Framingham population at the time was set for a release within five years.
Additional measures that Families for Justice as Healing has advocated for include increased elder care, comprehensive health care, affordable child care, and employment opportunities outside of prison.
“We believe these issues reflect a need to reevaluate the path forward,” the group’s letter continued.
“Prison cannot be reimagined—but our communities can be. Governor Healey, we ask that you meet with us—and listen.”
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