The entrance of the Massachusetts Correctional Institution in Shirley, Mass. (Gretchen Ertl/AP) The Massachusetts Department of Correction will suspend operations at two prisons, saying the decision was driven by low prisoner population. The department said it will also begin releasing more prisoners to home confinement in February. The moves come as lawmakers approved an amendment requiring the department to regularly report on its efforts to release prisoners during the coronavirus pandemic. The DOC said the state's prison population is at its lowest level in almost 35 years, so it will temporarily suspend operations at housing units that hold minimum-security and pre-release prisoners at the Massachusetts Correctional Institute in Shirley and South Middlesex Correctional Center.