Inmates could donate organs or bone marrow in exchange for time off their prison sentence if a newly proposed bill in the state of Massachusetts is passed …
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00:00A proposed bill in Massachusetts would give inmates up to a year off their prison sentences,
00:04but only if they donated their organs or bone marrow. So how would it work and how has it
00:08been received? Brute can explain in less than 60 seconds. Inmates eligibility would be determined
00:12by a new five-person panel, which includes organ donor specialists, correction officials,
00:17and prisoner rights advocates. Using an infographic, one of the bill's co-sponsors
00:20pointed out there is no current system in place in Massachusetts that allows inmates to donate
00:25their organs, even to their own relatives. The infographic also shows the state has a
00:295,000-person wait list for organ donations, and supporters of the bill believe this program could
00:34help fix that by giving inmates bodily autonomy. The policy director of Prisoners Legal Services
00:39of Massachusetts, however, said it could lead to a rise in coercion and that solutions should focus
00:44on the underlying structural problems leading to health disparities, including ongoing needless
00:49incarceration of so many. The president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums also said
00:53it seems like something out of a science fiction book or horror story.