Stay updated with breaking news from Fernald School. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
For years the Massachusetts State Police kept material for criminal cases at the old Fernald school, including graphic evidence for homicide investigations and at least one unsolved murder, accessible to any trespasser.
A decade after the city bought the property from the state, the legacy of the Fernald School is at the center of a fraught debate.
State officials say public records laws prevent them from sharing the vast troves of documents on former residents, even with immediate family members. Yet a handful of states have found ways to do precisely that.
The city bought the 190-acre property in part using money from the state, and promised to preserve the site. But it has let the buildings fall into disrepair.
It was not enough that those residents lost all agency in their lives and were segregated from their community, friends, and family. But then the chronicles of their health conditions, struggles, and needs were treated like so much trash.