Massachusetts' prison agency runs a psychiatric hospital where staff illegally restrain and use violence on patients, disability watchdog finds
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The Disability Law Center, Massachusetts' federally mandated Protection and Advocacy agency, reported on August 31, 2026 that restraint, seclusion and involuntary medication at Bridgewater State Hospital from December 2025 to June 2026 again violated state law and patients' constitutional rights, and that the Department of Correction and its contractor authorized or facilitated this by failing to address staff misconduct. Its February 2026 report found medication-restraint events per 1,000 patient days rose 62% from mid-2025 to fall 2025, documented staff violence during restraints, and noted that no one from DOC or the state's public-safety office responded to its prior report. On August 28, 2026 the DLC sent DOC preliminary findings on violent assaults of three patients. Massachusetts is the only state whose prison agency runs such a hospital.
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