MCI-Framingham Closing, Prisoners Will Go To Norfolk: Report

FRAMINGHAM, MA — A key state official confirmed this week that MCI-Framingham will close and inmates will be sent to another corrections facility in Norfolk. Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security Secretary Thomas Turco made the admission at a state House hearing on Tuesday, Commonwealth Magazine reported.

Talk of the closure began last December, when state officials said it would be cheaper to close the women's prison than renovate it. The prison was originally built in the 1870s, and has a capacity of about 450 people.

The move will cost about $35 million, whle the cost to renovate MCI-Framingham could reach $80 million, Turco told state lawmakers on Wednesday.

The existing prisoners would be moved to the Bay State Correctional Center, a former medium security men's prison in Norfolk that closed in 2015. The South Middlesex Correctional Center, located next to MCI Framingham, might also take some prisoners.