Massachusetts Federal Court Ignores Nazi-Style Crimes in State Prisons
In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. warned in his “Letter From Birmingham Jail” that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Writing from a jail cell in Birmingham, he understood that the struggle for civil rights would not end with a single victory. His words echo powerfully today. The injustices festering inside America’s prison system threaten not only those behind the walls, but the integrity of justice itself.
I am Jordan Martell Rice, a pro se1 prisoner incarcerated at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center (SBCC) in Shirley. I have spent years attempting to litigate clear constitutional violations through the federal courts. What I have encountered instead is obstruction, retaliation, and what I describe as systemic abuse shielded from meaningful judicial scrutiny.
On June 6, 2017, I filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts alleging malicious prosecution, civil rights conspiracy, and violent retaliation by correctional staff. The case, Rice v. Resendes, was presided over by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin. Despite the complexity and gravity of my claims, I was denied appointed counsel and forced to proceed pro se.
After surviving a motion to dismiss and entering discovery, I allege that retaliation intensified. At Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater, I submitted written grievances warning that staff members were threatening my safety but, Superintendent Steven Kennedy ignored those warnings. On May 15, 2021, I was assaulted in my cell by another prisoner. Although I acted in self-defense, I was placed in punitive segregation, while video evidence was reportedly unavailable due to alleged equipment failure.
Post assault, I filed grievances challenging my legal and personal property being damaged, stolen, and lost. While I was reimbursed for certain items, critical legal materials could not be located. When the prison’s defense counsel later represented to the court that administrators were unaware of my complaints, I presented documentation bearing Kennedy’s signature. Nonetheless, the court ruled in favor of the defendants and again denied my request for counsel, even as I attempted to litigate without access to essential materials that resulted in a defense win.
In 2023, I filed a second federal lawsuit, Rice v. Kennedy, overseen by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton and U.S. Magistrate Judge M. Page Kelley. By that time, Kennedy was transferred to SBCC as the Superintendent. The same obstructive patterns continued with the confiscation of legal books, denial of law library access, censorship of mail, and failure to protect me from further assaults. My attempts to replace essential legal texts—including the widely used “‘Prisoners’ Self-Help Litigation Manual”—were denied as “contraband” due to size restrictions, despite prior approval of identical materials.
I further allege that I have endured excessive force incidents, denial of adequate medical and mental health care, racial slurs, and targeted violence by other prisoners. In December 2024 and May 2025, I report that I suffered serious physical injuries during separate incidents in which staff allegedly failed to intervene or actively participated. I sustained a broken nose, and a concussion, yet have been denied proper treatment. Court officials ignored the blatant and inhumane crimes against me for being a voice for my constitutional rights.
These personal allegations unfold against a broader backdrop. In 2022, a class-action lawsuit, Diggs v. Mici, was filed before U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman, alleging systemic racist violence at SBCC against more than 150 Black and Brown prisoners. The Massachusetts Department of Correction ultimately agreed to a reported $6 million settlement. While that case did not resolve my individual claims, it underscores that concerns about violence and oversight at SBCC are not isolated.
I have written to numerous state and federal officials—including Attorney General Andrea Campbell, Governor Maura Healey, FBI Agent Sarah De Laid and others—seeking investigation and intervention. To date, my complaints have gone unanswered.
The federal courts are meant to serve as gatekeepers of constitutional rights, particularly for those with the least power. Yet, from my perspective, I have been required to litigate complex civil rights cases while deprived of the very tools necessary to do so. I maintain that this pattern effectively forecloses meaningful access to the courts.
Dr. King’s warning remains urgent. If constitutional protections can be eroded in silence behind prison walls, they can be weakened anywhere. My hope is that public awareness and independent scrutiny will bring transparency to conditions inside Massachusetts prisons and restore faith that justice applies to all free citizens and prisoners alike.”
If you would like to contact me then the only absolute way to ensure contact is by emailing my outside contact, Brianna Adams, who oversees the Committee to Free Me, and she will explain how to sign up to email me. Our e-mail address is: freedomreign1@hotmail.com.
1 “Pro se””(Latin for “for oneself”) refers to the legal right to represent yourself in court without an attorney.
Write to Jordan:
Jordan M. Rice-W65429
P.O. Box 8000
Shirley, MA 01464