Dozens of witnesses, including formerly and currently incarcerated people, community organizers and former corrections officials testified in favor of a bill to create an independent correctional‑oversight office that would implement recommendations of a special legislative commission on structural racism in corrections.

Speakers described retaliation against incarcerated advocates who develop programming inside facilities, alleged staff misconduct, and a lack of transparent data collection on race and treatment. Jacqueline Fonseca, an advocate who works with men at MCI Norfolk, described family members and program leaders facing institutional pushback for organizing inside facilities.

Multiple formerly incarcerated witnesses recounted retaliation and cited specific incidents they said went uninvestigated when complaints were filed. One witness said prison grievance processes are ineffective because fellow officers often investigate staff, which creates a barrier to accountability.

Supporters argued the oversight office would not be punitive but would provide data, transparency and a neutral avenue for complaints, and would help ensure existing statutes and regulations — including parts of the 2018 Criminal Justice Reform Act — are actually enforced. A former member of the governor’s restorative justice advisory council urged oversight as a means to “balance” the system and to create trust for staff and incarcerated people alike.

Ending: Several witnesses pledged follow‑up materials and encouraged the committee to report the oversight bill favorably as a foundation to improve implementation of other reforms discussed at the hearing.