The Lowell Sun
SHIRLEY, Mass. — The Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center went into lockdown when inmates started a melee Dec. 5, the Department of Correction said yesterday.
About 22 inmates were involved in the altercation about 10 a.m., but corrections officers moved quickly to restore order, said department spokeswoman Diane Wiffin.
“Souza-Baranowski was in lockdown after that, but then the lockdown ended Saturday afternoon, Dec. 6, with the exception of one unit and that ended Dec. 8,” Wiffin said.
The fight was not connected to department’s plans to start double-bunking prisoners in the maximum-security facility next year, Wiffin said.
The incident is under investigation and she declined to speculate on the cause of the fight.
Prisoners held a sit-in at correctional center’s dining hall Sept. 29 to protest plans for putting two prisoners to a cell, but gave it up after about 3 1/2 hours.
There were 1,013 inmates housed at the prison the day of the incident.
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