Judge rejects latest request to release prisoners due to COVID-19 By Laura Crimaldi Globe Staff,Updated February 18, 2021, 6:00 p.m. Email to a Friend The North Central Correctional Institution in Gardner.Lane Turner/Globe Staff ruling that although conditions inside the facilities âcontinue to deprive inmates of basic needs,â the state hasnât violated constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. âThe Court fully understands the consequences of any lapses in preventing the spread of a virus that has killed at least 19 prison inmates and over 15,000 Massachusetts residents,â Suffolk Superior Court Judge Robert L. Ullmann wrote in his order. âHowever, these lapses reflect sporadic mistakes and sporadic lack of sufficient attention to detail, which is far below the standard of deliberate indifference necessary to establish a constitutional violation.â