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<br />Officer.com News Article: NEWS: Massachusetts Sheriff Must Improve Access To Toilets <br /> <br />Page I of2 <br /> <br />Advertise. Bookmark. Contact Us . E-Alerts <br /> <br />(è Officer-com ¡ Web L~~_.---_._---_.__J . <br /> <br /> <br />Navigation <br /> <br />. Home <br />. News <br />Top Headlines <br />Officer Down <br />Internal Affairs <br />Homeland Defense <br />Submit News <br />. Forums <br />. Resources <br />. Shop <br />. Magazine <br />. Jobs <br />. Services <br />. Website Advertisin~ <br /> <br />,.. "ITT llIc¡ht <br />" vision plays <br />. J Vlt,]! role in <br />On Homeland <br />Dcfemc'h <br /> <br />Updated: September 16th, 2004 11 :21 :38 AM <br />Massachusetts Sheriff Must Improve <br />Access To Toilets <br /> <br />Associated Press <br /> <br />DARTMOUTH, Mass. (AP) -- A Superior Court judge has ordered Bristol County Sheriff <br />Thomas Hodgson to stop locking inmates in cells without toilets and requiring them to <br />be escorted by an officer when they need to go to the bathroom. <br /> <br />The ruling by Suffolk Superior Court Judge John Cratsley, issued last Friday, gives <br />Hodgson until Sept. 30 to improve access to communal bathrooms in two units at the <br />Bristol County House of Correction. <br /> <br />The two units were originally designed without locks or toilets so inmates could leave <br />their cells to go to the bathroom, said attorney James Pingeon, who represents the <br />inmates. Hodgson's decision to lock the cells created situations where inmates soiled <br />themselves, he said. <br /> <br />"It's important to run the jail in compliance with the law, and the use of a bathroom is a <br />basic human right," Pingeon told The Standard-Times of New Bedford. <br /> <br />Hodgson said he began locking the cells out of concern for inmate and guard safety. <br /> <br />"This is a jail, a house of correction, where you have to have a system," he said. "We <br />have people who have anger, dysfunctional issues and occasionally act out against my <br />staff." <br /> <br />He said he hasn't decided if he will appeal. <br /> <br />Hodgson has been criticized by inmates and civil rights groups for his policies, which <br />have included a ban on smoking and weightlifting and the removal of televisions from <br />cells. Last month, a judge ordered him to stop charging inmates a $5 fee for services <br />such as haircuts and doctor visits. <br /> <br />He also came under fire for bringing back chain gangs - prison work crews with shackles <br />and chains. <br /> <br />http://www.officer.com/artic1e/artic1e.jsp?siteSection= 1 &id= 170 12 <br /> <br />September 11th <br />3 Year Decals <br />Patches, Pins <br /> <br />Get Dé <br />Office! <br />Office! <br /> <br />Enter EI <br /> <br />Click <br /> <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />9/17/2004 <br />