Hey, how you doing everybody? My name is Chimezie Akara. I’m being housed at the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, incarcerated individual, #W89574. I would like to tell you about something that affects me personally, but affects people that look like me in the, in the incarcerated individual population, which is classification issues.
In 2022 I was charged with a staff assault, which led to me being housed at four different Behavioral Assessment Units, Special Management Units, Disciplinary Units, whatever you want to call them, basically, translation: the hole. I was given 30 months, but based off litigation, a year was knocked off and I was moved to general population at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center.
When I arrived at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, I realized that the conditions within that correctional center was harsher than the Behavioral Management Units that I was – the hole. [Unclear] I was getting less rec than I would get in the hole. I was getting less law library access than I was getting in the hole. I was getting less yard than I was getting in the hole. You had a collective, racist mindset, confrontational attitude of corrections officers that was responsible for my care, custody and control; so egregious that they had just recently settled a lawsuit for 6.4 million based off discriminating against 150 BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, people of color] inmates, and these mindsets are pretty prevalent today.
I mean, so I go into a situation, and now I sidestep every form of institutionalized racism, institutionalized trap to get me further into the trap, which is- spitting in my food, overt challenges, overt aggression, a militarized move team, you name it. So, now in November of 2025 I became eligible for medium security placement, and based on this hatred that they felt for me, they put an Escape Level A risk on me an heightened my security level without any due process, without a hearing or anything. Mind you, an escape risk is a serious allegation that can interfere with my re-sentencing hearing.
I challenged this with the inmate grievance process. I put in multiple staff misconduct allegations, you name it. And on March 12, that escape risk was lowered. I should also mention that on March 23, 2026, my criminal case: Commonwealth v. Chimezie Akara, docket number 2247CR000852 — It’s on [unclear]. This public record was dismissed, so; but they’re still housing me in a maximum security facility, even while I’m eligible, and my custody level is medium, and now minimum security level. I’m still being held here in my classification [unheard] you and being prolonged to get me in the situation while I’m here. So, now I said what I have to say this, this is basically what every incarcerated individual here encounters when you’re Black, Brown, Asian, and Native. They encounter these classification obstacles where they’re being kept here just to fill beds at the expense of their forward progress.
So, please, if you have any ideas, if you have any constructive criticism, if you have any advice, or if you want help, can you reach out to the Central Classification Headquarters and inquire about my situation? Thank you so much. You can reach me at the Core Links email service app, and/or Facebook, [unclear]. Thank you for hearing me out, and please reach out at your earliest convenience. I’m open to ideas. Thank you.
These commentaries are recorded by In Prison Radio.
