Named for M.C.I Framingham, the Commonwealth’s only women’s correctional institution, over the past decade and a half, the Framingham Project has recruited lawyers to represent incarcerated women in a wide variety of legal matters. Some of these cases have broken new ground, most notably in the cases of the “Framingham Eight,” a group of women incarcerated for killing or assaulting their batterers. A number of Women’s Bar members worked on teams of lawyers representing these women in different situations (clemency petitions, requests for parole, and motions for new trials) in an effort to ensure that the domestic violence suffered by the women was taken into account throughout the criminal proceedings. Currently, the Framingham Project represents women prisoners in three areas of law: child-related issues, clearing of outstanding criminal warrants, and housing issues. 

In the Spring of 2005, the WBF created a new program at the South Bay House of Correction in Boston, focusing on family law, housing, and clearing of criminal warrants. Volunteer lawyers conduct informational sessions with the women at South Bay, often answering questions to help prepare women prisoners with imminent re-entry into the community.

Contact:
Lisa Jacobson | Staff Attorney |  jacobson@womensbar.org