The Boston Herald
BOSTON — The state’s highest court has ruled that prison officials can take money from a prisoner’s personal account as punishment.
The practice by the Department of Correction was protested by prisoner Dennis Ciampi, who was caught by a guard with a bottle of ``home brew’’ alcohol in 2002. He was ordered to pay $144 to cover the cost of 12 months of testing him for drugs and alcohol. Ciampi took the Department to court, and a lower court judge ruled DOC had exceeded its authority when it took the money. Yesterday, the Supreme Judicial Court said the state has broad authority to maintain order in prisons.
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