Cantell v. Commissioner of Correction

The named plaintiffs in this putative class action are inmates serving criminal sentences in various Massachusetts prison facilities. For varying lengths of time, each of them has been placed in a “special management unit” (SMU) in nondisciplinary administrative segregation. In January, 2012, the plaintiffs commenced this action against the Commissioner of Correction (commissioner) and the superintendents of the correctional institutions in which the plaintiffs were housed (collectively, defendants). The plaintiffs allege that their placements in the SMUs, essentially in conditions of…