Boston city councilors turn up pressure on South Bay Jail as former inmates allege abusive behavior from correctional officers

Boston city councilors are pressing for answers about in-custody deaths at the South Bay House of Correction, as former inmates describe alleged physical abuse and mistreatment they say continued inside the jail months after a man was killed in an altercation with officers. 

At a City Council hearing Monday, Shacoby Kenny’s mother, Druesilla Brown, struggled to speak through tears as she called for accountability in her son’s death. The 32-year-old died at a hospital Dec. 8, 2025, one day after a confrontation with correctional officers inside the facility commonly known as the South Bay Jail. Kenny’s death was ruled a homicide earlier this year, with the medical examining finding that he experienced cardiac arrest while being physical restraining by officers.

“He had his issues, but he didn’t deserve to lose his life,” Brown said. 

The hearing came amid mounting scrutiny of the facility, where 20 people died in custody over the past five years, according to city officials. In early September, an investigation by Prisoners Legal Services of Massachusetts found what the nonprofit calls a repeated pattern of excessive and prohibited force at South Bay.

Former inmates describe abusive violence from correctional officers

Men who were previously held at South Bay after Kenny’s death told Boston.com they experienced or witnessed correctional officers using dangerous physical force on inmates.

Kyle Farrell, 29, of Dorchester, spent six months at South Bay Jail after entering the facility in February. He is now on pre-release at Brooke House, a residential reentry program. 

Farrell told Boston.com that, while at South Bay Jail, he had an altercation with another inmate, who stabbed him in the lower back. Correctional officers refused to provide medical care, he said, and instead took Farrell to solitary confinement. 

While he was calling out for medical help, Farrell said, officers slammed his head and broke both his wrists while restraining him. He lost a tooth in the incident, he said. 

“It feels like we don’t have a voice. It feels like it’s us against the world,” Farrell said. “[The correctional officers] threaten prisoners’ lives. They’re a very twisted group.” 

Farrell described a restraint technique he called the “figure four,” which he said he frequently saw officers use. They would handcuff a person, force them to the ground, and twist their legs upward while their face remained against the floor, Farrell said.  

Farrell said he had previously been held at the Suffolk County Jail on Nashua Street, where he experienced less physical aggression. Both facilities offered mental health check-ins, he said, but South Bay’s support was more limited because of staffing shortages.

“There’s not enough personnel to adequately handle the growing population of the jail,” Farrell said.

Mike F., 40, of South Boston, began his stay at South Bay in January, only a few weeks after Kenny’s death. He asked to be identified only by his first name because of his current status on pre-release. 

Mike described the facility as an “absolute nightmare” and said he witnessed a wrist-twisting technique used by correctional officers at least 10 times during his nearly 10-month stay.

“What they do is they wait to get you handcuffed,” he said of correctional officers. “Once they get you handcuffed … they’ll grab your middle fingers, and they use them to direct your wrist up.” 

Councilor, sheriff weigh in

Councilor Miniard Culpepper filed the resolution calling for Monday’s hearing in late April. He has pushed for greater scrutiny of the jail and accountability for officers involved in the confrontation that ended with Kenny’s death. 

“It was my understanding that these officers were placed in positions where they would have no contact with the inmates,” Culpepper said during the hearing, referring to the September external investigation. “And now we learn that not only do they have contact with inmates, but they’re still participating in subsequent uses of force.” 

Culpepper also criticized what he described as repeated attempts by his office to contact the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department, which runs the jails, receiving “little or no response.” 

Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins defended his department’s response in a statement to Boston.com. He said his absence Monday had been communicated in advance and shared two letters that his office sent Culpepper. One letter turned down the hearing invitation, explaining that the sheriff had been away from the department for a year and needed time to focus entirely on his immediate duties. Tompkins stepped away from his duties as sheriff as he faced federal extortion charges, of which he was acquitted in September.

The second letter rejected Culpepper’s request to arrange testimony from people incarcerated at the jail, explaining that a one-week notice was insufficient time to coordinate.

Tompkins said he was taking the allegations raised at the hearing seriously but cautioned against treating them as established facts.

“I feel that I should also restate, particularly in this day and age, that just because someone says it doesn’t make it so,” Tompkins wrote. “This is why facts are so important, evidence is key, and investigations are crucial.” 

Tompkins said he is “assessing policies, personnel, and programming” to ensure the staff has the “training, support, and equipment that they need to be among the best in the country.” 

The City Council plans to hold another hearing on in-custody deaths in December.

The state’s attorney general is also investigating Kenny’s death. A spokesperson said Thursday that there were no updates to share on the investigation and referred Boston.com to an earlier statement from Attorney General Andrea Campbell, who said her office was leading an active criminal investigation and could not comment further.

“I want justice,” Brown said. “I want change for those that are still here … Just because they’re in prison does not mean that they’re not useful, that they’re throwaway-able.”