Michael Horrell, a staff attorney at Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts — an organization focused on protecting civil rights of people in prisons — said the pandemic has worsened the quality of health care in the state’s correctional facilities, which has “never been great.”

“The time stands still,’” said Cynthia Goldberg, the director of the F8 Foundation. “The moment you see your family, you feel as if you're taken off of life support and you can breathe.”