My Account
Search

More About Prisoners' Legal Services

Prisoners' Legal Services is a not-for-profit legal services corporation, founded in 1972, that provides civil legal assistance to people who are incarcerated in Massachusetts state prisons (Department of Correction facilities) or in the county jails and houses of correction. The office was formerly known as Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services (MCLS).

Prisoner's Legal Services assists with problems that prisoners have with the institutions where they are confined. The office does not do criminal defense work (trials or appeals). The office does not handle problems that prisoners have that are not between the prisoner and the institution. For example, Prisoners' Legal Services does not provide assistance with child support, landlord-tenant, or divorce problems, although going to jail for even a short time often creates or complicates such problems.

Prisoners' Legal Services has four priority areas of work:

  • guard brutality (beatings by staff)
  • segregation and isolation of mentally ill prisoners
  • health care
  • unconstitutional conditions of confinement 

Prisoners' Legal Services Staff

Prisoners' Legal Services' advocacy staff consists of seven lawyers and three paralegals.

The lawyers are Brad Brockmann, Peter Costanza, Lauren Petit, James Pingeon, Bonnie Tenneriello, Joel  Thompson, and Leslie Walker. The Executive Director is Leslie Walker.

The paralegals are Amelia Alex, Alphonse Kamanzi, and Al Troisi.

Prisoners' Legal Services accepts calls from Massachusetts prisoners and their family members on Monday afternoons from 1 to 4 P.M. (800) 882-1413 is a free line for non-prisoners anywhere in Massachusetts. Prisoners in county facilities should call collect on (617) 482-4124. Prisoners in DOC facilities can call on a speed-dial number, *9004#, which is pre-authorized on all state prisoner PIN cards.

All staff can be reached at email addresses which are in the form firstinitial+lastname@plsma.org.

Prisoners' Legal Services was formerly known as Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services (MCLS).

View information submitted to the IRS about MCLS' tax-exempt status.

 

Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services Board of Directors

Effective March 2010

 

President
Patricia Garin., Esq.
Vice President
(vacant)
Clerk
Beth Eisenberg, Esq.
 Treasurer
Joseph Zwicker, Esq.
Wayne Alexander
 Alvin Carter
Raymond Champagne
 Celestino Colon
Dr. Matthew Dumont
 Tony Gaskins
Kim Mottley, Esq.
 Mac Hudson
Gail Hall

Joan Johnston
Mala Rafik, Esq.
 Robert Sable, Esq.
Bob Fleischner, Esq.
 Zeno Williams
James Rollins
copyright ©2004-2010 Prisoners' Legal Services