Speaker 1: This night side with Dan Ray on WBZ Constance video.
Speaker 2: Well, yesterday evening, there was a very ugly incident at
Speaker 2: the only maximum security prison here in Massachusetts, the Suza
Speaker 2: Baranowski Correctional Center in Lancaster six twenty yesterday afternoon. A
Speaker 2: couple of yesterday evening, a couple of officers doing their rounds,
Speaker 2: head counts and things like this, would jump from behind
Speaker 2: by inmates. One of the officers was stabbed twelve times,
Speaker 2: some of those stab wounds in his back and head.
Speaker 2: The other officer was also injured. Three officers who then
Speaker 2: tried to interfere with this attack was subsequently injured. So
Speaker 2: the box score his five officers injured, one very seriously
Speaker 2: still in condition. He's not his life is not in danger.
Speaker 2: But to be stabbed twelve times, that's that's pretty brutal. Today.
Speaker 2: Governor Healey responded, and we have some of the sound
Speaker 2: from the Governor and we're going to go to cut
Speaker 2: a rob which talks about no place for violence. Certainly
Speaker 2: there should be no violence inside of prison. The safety
Speaker 2: of the officers and the other prison inmates should be paramount.
Speaker 2: This is Governor Healey.
Speaker 3: Late today, I had an opportunity to speak with a
Speaker 3: couple of them. Look, there's no place for violence in
Speaker 3: our facilities, and we're going to do everything we can
Speaker 3: to protect.
Speaker 4: The safety and the security of those who work there
Speaker 4: and those who are incarcerated there. And we're currently in
Speaker 4: the ministivicual security assessment right now, and I'll can assure
Speaker 4: you that we'll make sure that the right steps are
Speaker 4: taken to make sure that there is safe, workable commissions.
Speaker 2: The governor has talked to the officers. I'm not sure
Speaker 2: if she's talked to all of the office, but she's
Speaker 2: talked to probably the most you know West seriously injured officers.
Speaker 2: This has cut b Rob.
Speaker 5: You talk to the hurt officers, they have to say.
Speaker 3: You know, I have talked to all of them. I
Speaker 3: talked to a few and them just espressly w we
Speaker 3: concerns about increased violence, and you know, we can represented
Speaker 3: series and their inner the things that we know about,
Speaker 3: I mean, they're happening and facilities around the country, but
Speaker 3: it's something that I know. The Secretary of Public Safety
Speaker 3: and I and are Commissioner for DOC are commuted.
Speaker 6: To work or not.
Speaker 2: So the question, of course is how can this happen.
Speaker 2: This is a maximum security prison, the only one in
Speaker 2: the state. My understanding is one of the reports I
Speaker 2: watched on television that I said, I believe that one
Speaker 2: of four, one out of four, twenty five percent of
Speaker 2: the inmates up there are serving life sentences. So they
Speaker 2: are the worst of the worst, and some of them
Speaker 2: feel they have nothing left to lose, which presents an
Speaker 2: incredible challenge to Massachusetts and to the Department of Correction.
Speaker 2: In a moment, we're going to be speaking with Massachusetts
Speaker 2: State Senator Peter Drant, who has been warning Durant, who
Speaker 2: has been warning about this possible problem. But the governor
Speaker 2: again today repeated what she perceives as they what the
Speaker 2: state has to do, and the only question is, obviously,
Speaker 2: are they doing it most effectively? Cut seat please Rob.
Speaker 4: In the aftermath of the death of and and I'll say,
Speaker 4: I just I do want to understore that you know,
Speaker 4: I wish them a speedy recovery. It's very serious when
Speaker 4: these things happen.
Speaker 3: I'm not going to tolerate it, and we need to
Speaker 3: make sure that we're doing all we can.
Speaker 4: To support those who are working in the facilities and
Speaker 4: those who are incarcerated in the soldies because we had
Speaker 4: another incident a few weeks ago involving an inmate. So
Speaker 4: you know, we'll make sure that the right steps are taken.
Speaker 2: Joining me now is Republican state senator here in Massachusetts,
Speaker 2: Peter Duran Durant. Peter, welcome back to night Side. You
Speaker 2: have been cautioning about problems in the prison system. As
Speaker 2: I understand it, some of these homemade knives, and they
Speaker 2: were homemade knives actually are produced from our tablets that
Speaker 2: the you know, tablets that the inmates are given, and
Speaker 2: they smashed the tablet and they use some sort of
Speaker 2: a steel strip to fashion it into a prison shift.
Speaker 2: What's going on up there?
Speaker 5: Yeah, thanks for having me on, Dan. This is this
Speaker 5: is outrageous. You know, we have been worrying about this,
Speaker 5: Me and many of the other fellow legislators have, you know,
Speaker 5: towards some of the prisons, and we've spoken to the
Speaker 5: correctional officers and they voice the concerns. They're the ones
Speaker 5: telling us that, you know, something has to be done.
Speaker 5: We have to be tougher on these inmates, especially as
Speaker 5: you mentioned earlier, the ones that are lifers that have
Speaker 5: nothing else to lose, giving them iPads or tablets of
Speaker 5: some sort. Uh, just handing them out and then seeing
Speaker 5: that they make weapons from you know, there's a solution,
Speaker 5: take all of them away. You know, Dan, when when
Speaker 5: you and I were kids, right, if if I had
Speaker 5: three siblings and if we were arguing over a toy
Speaker 5: or we were doing something, you know, my parents said, okay,
Speaker 5: none of you get it, and you know we've decided
Speaker 5: to wise up. So you know, why are we giving
Speaker 5: these things out? If if you're making weapons that is
Speaker 5: literally you know, stabbing someone twelve times, imperiling their life.
Speaker 5: It's it's outrageous. And you know when I want to
Speaker 5: hear more from the governor, I want to hear outrage.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the governors seemed as you would, you know, expect
Speaker 2: knowing governor. Heally very calm. But I agree with you,
Speaker 2: this should be outraged. I get I guess the officer
Speaker 2: who was stabbed twelve times, he may have had a
Speaker 2: lung punctured with a standing. Now, now that's more than
Speaker 2: a superficial wound. I mean when you when when your
Speaker 2: lung is punctured, and I just think that, you know,
Speaker 2: do we live in a state where we have basically said,
Speaker 2: not only will we coddle people and give them time
Speaker 2: after time after time. You read all of these stories
Speaker 2: about someone who's this is their fourteenth court appearance and
Speaker 2: finally they're given a thirty day sentence or something like that.
Speaker 2: We've caudled criminals, and now even with with people incarcerated,
Speaker 2: they have the what the hubris to to stab prison
Speaker 2: guards in.
Speaker 5: A person and not just that damn but think about it.
Speaker 5: It seems to be and again not being there, not
Speaker 5: knowing until we hear more of an investigation, but it
Speaker 5: seems to be very coordinated. When you have when you
Speaker 5: have one seal getting stabbed, you have four others responding
Speaker 5: and they're being injured. This is more than just one person.
Speaker 5: It just seems just seems to be a coordinated attack.
Speaker 5: And and you know, and you have to really feel
Speaker 5: to these guys because they do work out of sight
Speaker 5: of the public, right we don't see them every day
Speaker 5: in their job, but you know, they go to work
Speaker 5: every day in this incredibly dangerous environment. So many of
Speaker 5: them get injured on the job because of this. You know,
Speaker 5: we really need to we need to strengthen the protections
Speaker 5: for them so that they can do their job, and
Speaker 5: you know, look their babysitting, you know, the babysitting the
Speaker 5: worst of Massachusetts misfits here, and we need to take
Speaker 5: better care of our CEOs.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the union apparently was the first to break this story,
Speaker 2: and somehow, some way this went on imported. This occurred
Speaker 2: six twenty last night, and I just you know, according
Speaker 2: to the governor's statement that came with the soundbites from
Speaker 2: the governor, that two of the officers were assaulted by
Speaker 2: incarcerated individuals, doesn't say how many and sustained multiple stab wounds.
Speaker 2: They apparently were just on a normal routine. I don't
Speaker 2: know if it was bedcheck or whatever, but they were
Speaker 2: basically doing what they're supposed to do. They were attacked
Speaker 2: from behind, and then the other officers came to their defense.
Speaker 2: Thank god. The officers in these facilities are outnumbered by
Speaker 2: a big margin when you're compared to the number of inmates.
Speaker 2: I think there's four hundred inmates there. I wonder how
Speaker 2: many officers are on duty at any time and the
Speaker 2: public seems to get outraged and an inmates somehow gets injured.
Speaker 2: If let's say there is a brawl and one of
Speaker 2: the inmates claimed that one of the officers you know,
Speaker 2: hit him while he was down. You'll have the a
Speaker 2: c l U in court the next day, suing the
Speaker 2: Department of Corrections. But there doesn't seem to be the
Speaker 2: same amount of empathy, sympathy understanding that you've expressed as
Speaker 2: to what these CEOs go through on a day in
Speaker 2: a day out.
Speaker 5: Basis, Yeah, exactly, these are not good people. You know,
Speaker 5: We're not. This isn't a hotel, this is this is
Speaker 5: prison for the most violent offenders that we have. As
Speaker 5: you said earlier, lifers are there. This is the worst
Speaker 5: of the worst. And you know when you when you
Speaker 5: listen to the to the union's press conference, Makufu's press
Speaker 5: conference today, you know they do know how to handle
Speaker 5: these things. They know that they need resources. They're begging
Speaker 5: for the resources that they need to keep their people safe.
Speaker 5: They know how to respond to these things. They're just
Speaker 5: not given the backup for it.
Speaker 2: You know, I'm going to sort of throw this at
Speaker 2: you as a rhetorical question, but it's not a rhetorical question.
Speaker 2: We're going to spend two billion dollars and people who
Speaker 2: are arriving here in Massachusetts in effect unannounced in the
Speaker 2: migrant shelter program, which is wonderful to take care of people. Okay,
Speaker 2: that's great, but where are our priorities if we don't
Speaker 2: have enough money to hire enough prison guards to keep
Speaker 2: not only the prison guards safe, but the other inmates
Speaker 2: who are trying to do their time, behave act properly
Speaker 2: and get out and get back into society. Are our priorities?
Speaker 5: That's screwed up center, you know, as we're talking, of course,
Speaker 5: that's the first thing I'm thinking is our priorities are
Speaker 5: messed up. And that's really what comes down to the
Speaker 5: executive branch. That's what comes down from the governor. What
Speaker 5: are your priorities as we go forward, your priorities to
Speaker 5: you know, punish the CEOs whenever they, you know, step
Speaker 5: out of line or appear to step out of line.
Speaker 5: I mean, you're talking a very difficult job in which
Speaker 5: sometimes you take an instance like this, split second decisions
Speaker 5: are necessary. It's not a job that I would ever
Speaker 5: want to do in my entire life. But we're just
Speaker 5: thankful that we actually have people that do them. And
Speaker 5: you know, we also have to remember these people leave
Speaker 5: home every day, they kiss their wives goodbye. You know,
Speaker 5: they say I love you, and you know they may
Speaker 5: not come back, and this is what happens. So we
Speaker 5: have to have our priorities straightened out here, I think
Speaker 5: in Massachusetts, and I think we've really gone off track
Speaker 5: on this and a number of things. Again, this is
Speaker 5: an isolated incident.
Speaker 2: I guess the state Senator Peter Durant, He's a Republican
Speaker 2: from Spencer. His state Senate district is in really central Massachusetts,
Speaker 2: Worcester County, amongst others. If you'd like to to Senator
Speaker 2: Durant six one, seven, two, five, four to ten thirty
Speaker 2: six one seven, nine three one ten thirty he is
Speaker 2: one of four I believe it's a hearty band of
Speaker 2: four members of the state Senate who have an R
Speaker 2: after their name. He is the most recently elected member
Speaker 2: of the state Senate on the Republican side here in Massachusetts.
Speaker 2: We did reach out today to the correction Officers Union,
Speaker 2: and my producer was not able to get a response
Speaker 2: from the Corrections Officers Union. If there's anyone out there
Speaker 2: who are corrections officers or anyone from the union and
Speaker 2: you'd like to join the conversation, we'd encourage you to
Speaker 2: call in as well as well as any of you
Speaker 2: six one, seven, two, five, four to ten thirty six one, seven, nine, three, one,
Speaker 2: ten thirty. The numbers here on Night Side also triple eight, nine, two, nine,
Speaker 2: ten thirty. Take a very quick break back. But State
Speaker 2: Senator Peter Durant, this is a real problem that exists.
Speaker 2: There's a problem with criminals who are out and amongst us,
Speaker 2: and there's a problem of criminals who are been incarcerated
Speaker 2: and who have not been able to figure out how
Speaker 2: to act even within a prison setting to maximize the
Speaker 2: time that they're in there and to maximize minimize the
Speaker 2: amount of time that they would have to stay in there.
Speaker 2: I mean, if you attack a prison guard, I don't
Speaker 2: think that's going to increase your chances to get parole,
Speaker 2: at least that's been my experience. Join the conversation, coming
Speaker 2: right back on Nightside with Massachusetts State Senator Peter Durant
Speaker 2: of Central Massachusetts.
Speaker 1: Now back to Dan ray Line from the window World
Speaker 1: Lake Side Studios on w b Z, the news radio.
Speaker 2: State Senator Peter Durant, Let's let's get some questions, some
Speaker 2: calls going. You got a little bit of time for
Speaker 2: us tonight.
Speaker 6: I do good.
Speaker 2: Okay, let's let's get the phone calls. Then I'm going
Speaker 2: to go first to Kathy in Lunenburg. Lunenburg is fairly
Speaker 2: close to that neck of the woods. The the Susan
Speaker 2: Bereanowski UH prison is in Lancaster, fairly close to Lunenburg. Cathy,
Speaker 2: welcome here tonight with Massachusetts State Senator Peter Durant got ahead.
Speaker 7: Hi, Peter, thanks for taking my call.
Speaker 6: Dan.
Speaker 7: Back in twenty twenty, I actually ran for State Rep.
Speaker 7: And at that time was the GOP nominee, and we
Speaker 7: had spoken out because back in February twenty twenty there
Speaker 7: was a similar incident that happened at SUSA Baronowski. I
Speaker 7: know at that time a group of lawmakers did tour
Speaker 7: the facility. In large part, it seemed at that point
Speaker 7: Senator Jamie Eldridge was advocating strongly for prisoners, which still
Speaker 7: seems to continue. I know there's been a lot of
Speaker 7: talk of prisoners getting free phones and phone calls and whatnot.
Speaker 7: And I just wondered, you know, because unfortunately, you know,
Speaker 7: the Democrats of the supermajority right now on Beacon Hill,
Speaker 7: we're when this happened back in twenty twenty, we had
Speaker 7: expected we actually stood out and did a protest to
Speaker 7: its USA Brenowski. We had expected some change to follow thereafter.
Speaker 7: And was there anything in a positive direction from that
Speaker 7: point that you're aware of, because I know I had
Speaker 7: back then spoken with Kevin Flannagan from the Corrections Union,
Speaker 7: and there was just a lot of frustration, and you
Speaker 7: can see that it continues and change hasn't happened.
Speaker 8: But get that question.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, there's I know you got a question here,
Speaker 2: So go ahead and phrase that question if you.
Speaker 7: Would, Well, where are democratic lawmakers on this issue other
Speaker 7: than Jamie Eldridge.
Speaker 5: Well, yeah, thank you for the question. You know, there's
Speaker 5: there is a lot of frustration here and I think that, unfortunately,
Speaker 5: it takes these instances sometimes to bring people around and
Speaker 5: try to get some movement on this. I do think
Speaker 5: that we we've kind of moved in a direction with
Speaker 5: some of the reforms that we've put into place to
Speaker 5: make it more difficult to be a police officer, be
Speaker 5: a correctional officer. We've seen that kind of movement in
Speaker 5: the state, and you know, we really do need to
Speaker 5: reverse that and move things around. Unfortunately, I don't want
Speaker 5: to say that but you know, sometimes it takes a
Speaker 5: tragedy to make that happen, and I hope this is
Speaker 5: enough to do it, but you know, well that will
Speaker 5: remain to be seen.
Speaker 7: Well, I hope that people continue to speak out to
Speaker 7: their individual lawmakers, to continue to ask and you know
Speaker 7: a lot of these corrections officers live. A lot of
Speaker 7: them live in Lunenburg, and I know a number of
Speaker 7: them that live in Lancaster as well, and I'm quite
Speaker 7: similiar with this location of SUSA Baronowski. So I hope
Speaker 7: that I hope that we see more people speak out
Speaker 7: about this and because something must be done, and there's
Speaker 7: got to be some common sense that comes into this
Speaker 7: whole situation.
Speaker 2: Well, we easily could have had Kathy. We easily could
Speaker 2: have had a corrections officer killed more more than I
Speaker 2: mean when this we almost did right twelve stab wounds.
Speaker 2: It'll be interesting to see what the charges are brought against.
Speaker 2: And I think that the state and whoever, whether this
Speaker 2: is the Attorney General's office, and Peter, you would know
Speaker 2: better than I on this, whether it would be a
Speaker 2: district attorney or the Attorney General's office, they should have
Speaker 2: bring the hammer down. I'm sure that this videotape of
Speaker 2: this incident. I would assume that there's there's cameras everywhere
Speaker 2: inside of prisons, Am I correct Peter in that in that.
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, yeah, every in that prison should be covered,
Speaker 5: and we are. Many of my colleagues are calling for
Speaker 5: an investigation into this, a full investigation to find out
Speaker 5: exactly what happened and what steps need to be be
Speaker 5: taken to to try to ensure this isn't going to
Speaker 5: happen again. I think that's a tall order. I think
Speaker 5: that anytime you have inmates like this, who have nothing
Speaker 5: to lose, who are violent, who have violent tendencies, this
Speaker 5: is going to be part of the job. But we
Speaker 5: we need to give them all of the resources that
Speaker 5: we can so that they they can minimize this and
Speaker 5: and try to make sure that it doesn't happen anymore.
Speaker 2: Well, I'd like to I'd like to find out how
Speaker 2: many correction officers are on staff at any given time.
Speaker 8: I'd like to not enough.
Speaker 7: Not enough.
Speaker 2: Obviously, that's that's the correct answer, But the quest the
Speaker 2: real question is how many more? And let's take some
Speaker 2: of that money that we're using to house people in hotels, uh,
Speaker 2: and and let's let's redirect that money. We don't have
Speaker 2: unlimited funds here in Massachusetts. So Kathy, I got to
Speaker 2: let you go. Peter. Do you want to say for
Speaker 2: another segment or thanks thanks very much Kathy for for
Speaker 2: getting us going here. Peter. Can you stay for another segment?
Speaker 2: Or do you.
Speaker 5: It has been a long day. I was, I was.
Speaker 5: I did spend two hours on the pipe with that
Speaker 5: rollover that cursed it unbelievable.
Speaker 2: Nothing was moving. That has to have been pretty frustrating.
Speaker 2: I saw that. I didn't look at it carefully, but
Speaker 2: the pike was just a dead stop. I saw there
Speaker 2: was some couple who was on their way to getting married,
Speaker 2: and they were taking pictures a memorable pre marriage photography session.
Speaker 2: We'll take a break. I'd like to know from some
Speaker 2: of the audience, are you ready to bring the hammer
Speaker 2: down on any of these individuals, these these inmates who
Speaker 2: went after these corrections officers, because if they just get
Speaker 2: a slap on the wrist, you know, thirty thirty days,
Speaker 2: they don't get you know, strawberries with their corn flakes
Speaker 2: in the morning, or they denied an opportunity to watch
Speaker 2: TV for an extra hour at night, or some that's
Speaker 2: this is attempted murder. That's what it is.
Speaker 6: Now.
Speaker 2: It might be a lifer, but hit him with it hard,
Speaker 2: because this sort of activity cannot be permitted to occur,
Speaker 2: not only in Massachusetts or the streets of Massachusetts, but
Speaker 2: certainly within the prisons. So I'd love to hear from
Speaker 2: you if you're a corrections officer, if you are somebody
Speaker 2: who's in that corrections union, you'd like to join the conversation.
Speaker 2: If you're a police officer, I think that the pendulum
Speaker 2: now has to swing back, and we have to now
Speaker 2: realize that maybe we have gone overboard, and we're more
Speaker 2: concerned about prison convicted prison inmates and criminals than we
Speaker 2: are of the men and women who have to keep
Speaker 2: all of us safe. We're at home, we're sleeping nice
Speaker 2: and soundly in our beds at night, while the correction
Speaker 2: officer is on duty, and this is unfair. My guest
Speaker 2: State Senator Peter Durant, Will Durant from Central Massachusetts will
Speaker 2: take a quick break. I'd love to hear some outrage
Speaker 2: from some of my uh some some of my listeners
Speaker 2: on this one, because this is something you may feel.
Speaker 2: It doesn't affect me because I'm not a corrections officer.
Speaker 2: Oh yes it does, Oh yes it does. And what
Speaker 2: happens to these inmates who attacked these corrections officers who
Speaker 2: were simply doing their job, walking the tier or whatever
Speaker 2: they were doing. They they need to be protected as well.
Speaker 2: Here we go six one seven, two thirty six one seven,
Speaker 2: nine three, ten thirty. If you've had enough here in
Speaker 2: Massachusetts of coddling criminals and coddling those who have been
Speaker 2: convicted of crime, this is your opportunity to give us
Speaker 2: a call. Coming back with State Senator Peter Durant on
Speaker 2: Night Side BOK. It's Night Side with.
Speaker 1: Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2: My guess state Senator Peter Durant. He's a Republican from
Speaker 2: central Massachusetts. Five correction officers attacked yesterday Wednesday afternoon. One
Speaker 2: is still in the hospital from twelve stab wolds, twelve sabos.
Speaker 2: That's attempted murder in my opinion. And I hope, I
Speaker 2: hope we see an example made of this inmate, who
Speaker 2: obviously was carrying a home made knife. Peter, how do
Speaker 2: you think this this inmate will be treated?
Speaker 5: Well, you know, I do think that he will be
Speaker 5: charged again. We don't know who this person is whether
Speaker 5: or not. He's already in for life, so he's going
Speaker 5: to be charged, He's going to hopefully get some kind
Speaker 5: of increased confinement. I don't know if we do solitary
Speaker 5: confinement anymore, or if we do, what the additional punishments are.
Speaker 5: But as you stated, this is a tempted murder, and
Speaker 5: you know, even if you're even if you're in for life,
Speaker 5: you can't allow them to get away with this. So
Speaker 5: there has to be increased punishment. I think there will be,
Speaker 5: but we can't. It can't go unanswered because all this
Speaker 5: is doing is we if we allow it to continue,
Speaker 5: is is just set an example, nothing happens to us.
Speaker 5: You know, the inmates are truly running the asylum at
Speaker 5: that point.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Oh, and at that point is almost licensed to kill,
Speaker 2: or license at a minimum, license to injure. Let me
Speaker 2: go to Elizabeth in Lynn. Elizabeth, thanks very much for
Speaker 2: calling in. You're almost State Senator Peter Durant. I feel
Speaker 2: free to ask whatever question or make whatever comment you'd
Speaker 2: like on this.
Speaker 9: NI, thanks so much for covering this. I'm old and
Speaker 9: I'm set up with the disrespect that the corrections officers,
Speaker 9: the police officers. But law enforcement is not It does
Speaker 9: not get the respect it deserves in a case like this,
Speaker 9: those poor people who if they don't do this job,
Speaker 9: who's going to do it? So we just set these
Speaker 9: people free. And and I mean.
Speaker 2: Maybe at some point in the future we can we
Speaker 2: can put robots in these prisons, But then the robots
Speaker 2: will be fat. I mean, I'm serious, who would who
Speaker 2: would want this job?
Speaker 8: Yeah?
Speaker 9: Exactly, and and and and they take pride in their careers.
Speaker 9: They trained to do this, they get certified to do it,
Speaker 9: and then you turn around and this happens, and and
Speaker 9: I'm listening to this story, and I'm thinking to myself,
Speaker 9: what's the punishment? Solitary confinement is only the beginning. I mean, uh,
Speaker 9: cut their food back to rats and do something with
Speaker 9: the food. And the other thing is a lot I
Speaker 9: bet a lot of these people have family around. Ship
Speaker 9: them to another state and and and make them feel
Speaker 9: the I just I just have no no patience for
Speaker 9: listening to this. And the other thing is I've I've
Speaker 9: listened to people debate what should happen in a prison?
Speaker 5: What should happen to know, Elizabeth.
Speaker 2: We're starting We're starting to lose our connection there one
Speaker 2: thing that I think, uh, perhaps, and again, of course
Speaker 2: they're going to have lawyers, civil liberties, union lawyers. I
Speaker 2: don't see why you kind of look at someone like this,
Speaker 2: Senator and work out something with the federal government. So
Speaker 2: someone like this who has attacked and attempted to murder
Speaker 2: a corrections officer, why can't he serve the rest of
Speaker 2: his sentence in that supermax federal prison in Colorado.
Speaker 5: Yeah, And I think Elizabeth brings up a good point
Speaker 5: is they have to feel the pain, right, they have to.
Speaker 5: There has to be additional punishment here that that makes
Speaker 5: them feel that there's some consequence to it, because otherwise
Speaker 5: there's not. And you know, I think Elizabeth brings up
Speaker 5: another point, and we've talked about this as well, is
Speaker 5: that you know, we're seeing a decline in enrollment of
Speaker 5: of not just correctional office but but police officers all together.
Speaker 5: When we passed the Police Reform Act, it was it
Speaker 5: really started this, this decline in police enrollment. Uh, And
Speaker 5: people who've wanted to become part of this industry, part
Speaker 5: of this part of this family, if you will, of
Speaker 5: public safety, and that's really a shame and the reason
Speaker 5: why they're doing that is because again is there's there's
Speaker 5: more protection, there's more benefits for those who are breaking
Speaker 5: the law than those who are trying to uphold it.
Speaker 9: That was beautifully said. But the other thing I want
Speaker 9: to ask you is, and I should have started with this,
Speaker 9: what kind of what what kind of punishment have have
Speaker 9: people in this environment been given in the past?
Speaker 2: And you know.
Speaker 9: A lot about what the climate is and how much
Speaker 9: they with.
Speaker 2: Elizabeth, Unfortunately we're losing you on the phone here. I
Speaker 2: think the question of Peter is what has been done
Speaker 2: to I don't know that we've had that many attacks
Speaker 2: on corrections officers. Most people who are in prison, Peter,
Speaker 2: I have found, and I have had many of them
Speaker 2: who listen to my show and who have emerged in
Speaker 2: better shape emotionally, psychologically, mentally, whatever you want to call it.
Speaker 2: They will call this program and they will tell me
Speaker 2: that they serve time. I had a gentleman called the
Speaker 2: other night who served twenty one years for a crime
Speaker 2: he didn't commit. He finally proved it through DNA that
Speaker 2: he was innocent of the crime for which he has committed.
Speaker 2: He talked about contemplating suicide, and we were talking about
Speaker 2: suicide the other night. But he made the point that
Speaker 2: he gets a small settlement from the Commonwealth Massachusetts, which
Speaker 2: is cap because of his incarceration. But this guy had
Speaker 2: an attitude. Okay, I survived that and I'm going to
Speaker 2: maximize the rest of my life. He was telling me
Speaker 2: he had a grandson and that he was going to
Speaker 2: spend as much time with So there are people who
Speaker 2: do go through the system and really turn themselves around,
Speaker 2: and we cannot punish those people. And you know, we
Speaker 2: have to give people every opportunity. But when someone is
Speaker 2: so flagrant that they will attack a corrections officer stab
Speaker 2: him twelve times, that person is lost. And as far
Speaker 2: as I'm concerned, whatever you want to do with him,
Speaker 2: we can't give him the death penalty. I get that,
Speaker 2: we can't do anything that's cruel and unusual in violation
Speaker 2: of the Eighth Amendment. I get that. But my suggestion is,
Speaker 2: when they do something like this, have a crime that
Speaker 2: says if you attack a corrections officer, work something out
Speaker 2: with the federal government that you become immediately eligible upon
Speaker 2: conviction for transfer to super maxim in Colorado. Because I
Speaker 2: don't think that's a present that any of these guys
Speaker 2: want to go.
Speaker 5: To you know, I think that's a reasonable punishment. You know,
Speaker 5: a couple of things though that I think we're said
Speaker 5: to dan. You know, first of all, these instances that
Speaker 5: rise to this level fortunately are rare, but I don't
Speaker 5: think that, you know, you don't start here, right. This
Speaker 5: is somebody who has probably been violent in the past.
Speaker 5: And I think these you know, from what I hear
Speaker 5: I'm talking to correction hosts, they're in fights all the time,
Speaker 5: you know this, so it's not unusual for them to
Speaker 5: have to to have to, you know, get in a
Speaker 5: brawl with some of these inmates. Now, you're absolutely correct.
Speaker 5: There are inmates who just want to serve their time.
Speaker 5: They want to be rehabilitated and come out and just
Speaker 5: go on with their life. And I think our sheriffs
Speaker 5: who are running the county jails are doing fantastic work.
Speaker 5: And you know, uh my sheriff is Sheriff lou of Angelitis.
Speaker 5: He's doing fantastical by.
Speaker 2: The way, with with Sheriff Evangelitis today and he said
Speaker 2: great things about you and and your leadership on Beacon Hill,
Speaker 2: by the way, just so.
Speaker 5: You know, well, and you know he's he's a good friend.
Speaker 5: And but he's doing great work and he's you know,
Speaker 5: he's helping to you know, get those who want the
Speaker 5: help right. And it's it's all gonna be within you.
Speaker 5: You have to want to get out of there and
Speaker 5: and turn your life around and and be rehabilitated and
Speaker 5: and and find a job and do all those things
Speaker 5: that you have to do. And lou has some great
Speaker 5: programs that are helping people do just that, and his
Speaker 5: recidivism is down, and that's what we got to look for.
Speaker 5: But you're these individuals again, I think it's not going
Speaker 5: out on a limb saying that this is not the
Speaker 5: first time that this particular individual or these these individuals
Speaker 5: who are involved with this have been involved in an
Speaker 5: altercation in prison.
Speaker 2: People who are who were stopped for speeding at one
Speaker 2: hundred and twenty miles an hour in the turnpike. It's
Speaker 2: not the first time they went over the speed limit.
Speaker 2: That's what you're saying. Eat all right, Peter Durant, Thank
Speaker 2: you very much. Elizabeth. I'm sorry your phone broke up
Speaker 2: on us, but you made some great points. Thank you
Speaker 2: so much for joining us tonight. Thank you all right,
Speaker 2: Thanks Elizabeth. We're going to come back with State Senator
Speaker 2: Peter Durant. I got Gary, and I got ed, and
Speaker 2: I got room for you, and I want to hear
Speaker 2: from you. Six one, seven two four ten thirty six
Speaker 2: seven nine. We will switch topics. One. We're going to
Speaker 2: let Peter Durant finish his day. It's been a long
Speaker 2: day for him. State Senator Durant, uh. And then we
Speaker 2: will be talking with the WBZ car guys, Larry and
Speaker 2: Scott Rubinstein, answering all of your automotive questions. You want
Speaker 2: to buy a new car, you want to sell your
Speaker 2: own car, you want to know what to how to
Speaker 2: take care of your car coming into the fall and
Speaker 2: driving season. That's why they're there tonight, and we will
Speaker 2: talk to them right after the ten o'clock news. We're
Speaker 2: going to finish up with State Senator Durant, who is
Speaker 2: who's one of the most thoughtful members of the legislature.
Speaker 2: I'm a little biased, frankly, because I want to see
Speaker 2: more Republicans in both the House and Senate so that
Speaker 2: we can have a more balanced legislature. And things like
Speaker 2: this tend not to happen as often in legislatures in
Speaker 2: states where legislators have legislatures have more philosophical balance. We'll
Speaker 2: be back on Nightside right after this.
Speaker 1: Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
Speaker 1: Nightside Studios on WBZ News.
Speaker 2: Radio earlier tonight, at the beginning of the eight o'clock hour,
Speaker 2: I told you that Knightside would be more exciting and
Speaker 2: more informative than the Red Sox game I'm watching. You know,
Speaker 2: the Red Sox lost two to nothing, and Peter, I
Speaker 2: know you're a Red Sox fan. They suffered the indignity
Speaker 2: of a one hitter tonight. They were only able to
Speaker 2: be one hit from the number nine hit. All the
Speaker 2: big guys were three oh three, oh for three. Unbelievable.
Speaker 2: Let's get back to the My son is almost ruined.
Speaker 2: Let me go to Gary, Gary Wolver Gary, you're on
Speaker 2: a state Senator Peter Durank, right ahead.
Speaker 8: Gary, comment, and then I'll tell the question of Peter.
Speaker 8: Donald Trump's famous for us come back to haunt us again.
Speaker 8: We need to take care of ourselves.
Speaker 6: Now.
Speaker 8: The question is this is with felons, Okay, how do
Speaker 8: they live? Peter and Dan, If you're a fellon, white
Speaker 8: call a fellon or a violent sellon, isn't it twenty
Speaker 8: three hours a day of lock up and only go
Speaker 8: out of your jail cell for an hour.
Speaker 5: I don't thanks for question. I don't believe that's the
Speaker 5: case if you're just a sellon. I think that's the
Speaker 5: case if they are for various levels, But I don't
Speaker 5: know that I can answer that question.
Speaker 2: I think that at super Max in Colorado, when you're
Speaker 2: dealing with some of those high profile like Boston barmber
Speaker 2: number two, they get an hour in the are today. Okay,
Speaker 2: that is not the norm. Maybe that's what this guy
Speaker 2: has to deal with for the rest of his life
Speaker 2: at Susan Bereanowski or maybe, as I say, I'd like
Speaker 2: to see him transferred out of the state uh and
Speaker 2: put into a very controlled set of circumstances like super
Speaker 2: Max in Colorado, And that might be a piece of
Speaker 2: legislation we might want to think about.
Speaker 5: Peter, Yeah, yeah, it makes sense that we need that
Speaker 5: that next level and attempted murder.
Speaker 2: If you're convicted for attempted murder of a prison guard
Speaker 2: in a Massachusetts correctional facility, that your punishment, you know,
Speaker 2: you work something out with the federal government where they
Speaker 2: will take they will take these brutally vicious criminals off
Speaker 2: the hands, and obviously they can handle him at supermax
Speaker 2: better than can be at super Baronowski. Did you have
Speaker 2: a question Gary as well or comment?
Speaker 8: Did you want to have one last question? It goes
Speaker 8: like it's gonna be an unusual question, but here goes
Speaker 8: I know guys who have been to jail who are
Speaker 8: friends of mine, misdemeanor and when they go to jail,
Speaker 8: of course you got the machines with candy and soda
Speaker 8: and all that, and you got the Raman marouched noodles
Speaker 8: for two dollars a bag in the machine. My question
Speaker 8: to you, Peter is this, we know that prisoners only
Speaker 8: eat very light in food because that's you know, you
Speaker 8: committed the crime. My question is this, if the if
Speaker 8: the families are just sending in money for them to
Speaker 8: eat from the machines and they're more affordable and they're fulfilled,
Speaker 8: will not be a better prisoner where they're just saying
Speaker 8: and that's tempted, that hurts somebody.
Speaker 2: I think that's an interesting topic for another night, Peter.
Speaker 2: But I think in view of what this guy did
Speaker 2: to the prison guard, our focus should be on the
Speaker 2: real victims in this crime, including the prison guard who
Speaker 2: will stabbed twelve times. Thanks, Gary, appreciate you call. Let
Speaker 2: me go next to Ed and Chelsea. Ed going to
Speaker 2: get you in here with State Senator Peter Duryant before
Speaker 2: we have to wrap the hour. Go ahead, Ed, Eddie there, Okay, yeah,
Speaker 2: Eddie you there, let's go. We're running out of time.
Speaker 2: I want to get you under the wire. Go right ahead.
Speaker 6: Yes. Uh, well, it's always been violent inside there. I
Speaker 6: did eleven years. I'm well aware of all the situation.
Speaker 6: I don't know this place you're talking about, but I'm
Speaker 6: well aware of.
Speaker 2: Okay, So let me ask you, as an alumnus of
Speaker 2: the Massachusetts Correctional System, what how, what punishment should be
Speaker 2: imposed upon an inmate who attempts to stab or successfully
Speaker 2: stabs a correction officer twelve times and puts him in
Speaker 2: the hospital. What what sort of a penalty do you
Speaker 2: think would be?
Speaker 6: He's done, He's done, He's done. The inmates don't want
Speaker 6: it either. You don't understand what what? What? Everybody gets out?
Speaker 2: Okay, how how do we how do we treat give
Speaker 2: us an idea? You're you're a guy who has more
Speaker 2: experience inside than I do. When Peter does, what do
Speaker 2: you do with this guy? Put him in solitary confide
Speaker 2: then for for ten years? What do you how do
Speaker 2: you punish him for this, particularly if he's already a lifer.
Speaker 6: I'll bet you, I'll bet a dollar to a million
Speaker 6: that this tension was building up for over a year.
Speaker 6: Over a year. They've seen it.
Speaker 8: God seen it.
Speaker 6: The God said something about it, and no one did
Speaker 6: nothing about it.
Speaker 2: Okay, fine, I'm with you. What do you do? What
Speaker 2: do you do to this guy for punishment? Is there
Speaker 2: a punishment?
Speaker 6: Gun he's put now? The FEDS do have a situation
Speaker 6: where you can send a state prison of two Feds.
Speaker 6: I know that's for sure. Back then, okay, they sent you,
Speaker 6: I was, I was, They sent me state, then they
Speaker 6: sent me to FED. You send him to you send him?
Speaker 5: Uh?
Speaker 6: What is that one they have underground? The FED?
Speaker 2: I was talking about super Max in Colorado, and I'm
Speaker 2: glad it was when your time and he came out
Speaker 2: and you sound fine to me? Thank you tonight.
Speaker 6: Thirty years thirty years fine.
Speaker 2: Thirty ed call me some night and we'll talk more
Speaker 2: about it. I'm flat out of time. I I admire
Speaker 2: guys like you have been able to turn their lives around.
Speaker 2: And I mean that seriously.
Speaker 6: Thank you, Thank.
Speaker 2: You, Senator Durant. How can folks get in touch with
Speaker 2: you if they have ideas, maybe they'd like to support
Speaker 2: what you're trying to do up there to say, hell,
Speaker 2: what's the best way for people who on my program
Speaker 2: want to support Peter Durant.
Speaker 5: They can find me at Senator Durant dot com. And
Speaker 5: we love to hear from you and go to Senator
Speaker 5: Durant dot com and and reach out.
Speaker 2: Sounds great, Peter again, long day, Thank you for your
Speaker 2: time tonight. You're the best.
Speaker 5: Thank you Daniel very much.
Speaker 2: You're welcome. You're welcome. When we get back, we're going
Speaker 2: to talk about cars with the WBZ car guys. I'm
Speaker 2: so looking forward to talking with Larry and Scott Rubinstein.
Speaker 2: They are the best. We haven't had them on for
Speaker 2: more than four months. They are long overdue. Get the
Speaker 2: phone calls going, because they will be here. They will
Speaker 2: take your calls, but it'll be tough to get in
Speaker 2: once the phone calls fill up. Sixty six, one, seven, nine, three,
Speaker 2: one ten thirty. Nightside comes right back talking automobiles with
Speaker 2: Scott and Larry