We, the undersigned, oppose the proposed changes to the Department of Correction 103 Code of Massachusetts Regulation (CMR) 483.00 Visiting Procedure and 103 CMR 486.00 Attorney Access at Massachusetts Correctional Institutions.

The proposed changes infringe on the civil liberties of all visitors and are contrary to the Massachusetts DOC's purported mandate to "reflect the importance of maintaining contact with family and the community, ..."

We strongly oppose the proposed changes in 103 CMR 483, particularly the mandating of CORI (Criminal Offender Record Information) checks of relatives and friends of prisoners, the restriction of visits to more than one institution, and the proposed limit of 10 pre-approved visitors per inmate and the forbidding visitors to talk to each other.The proposed Visiting Procedures are over-reaching and injurious to the maintenance of ties to the community.