By: Doniella Maddox
Riots brook out today at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution in Cedar Junction, Norfolk. This Maximum Security facility housed approximately 800 inmates, roughly 50 of which were involved in today’s incident. Four of those inmates have been killed in the chaos, seven injured. Among those inmates that were killed was one by the name of Declan Owen Hands.
The name caught this reporter’s attention, given the recent activity of Jasmine Hands in Hathian as a music artist and business owner.
Jasmine Hands is the new and rising star of Brun Dug Music. The 28 year old Irish singer began as a feature in a music video with the rock sensation After the Fall and her popularity has only been growing. Her debut Album, Hands Off! releases at the end of August. In addition to her musical career, she’s also been quoted as trying to “make the city a better place” with the addition of a family-friendly establishment, Sundae School Ice Cream Parlor.
Born in Ireland, her family immigrated to the US in 2007 and like many immigrants from The Emerald Isle, her family of five settled in South Boston. The large family of eight included Cassidy McCochlain, Declan Hands and the six children. Yet despite the faithful Catholic facade, there was a secret they kept hidden behind closed doors.
According to reliable sources, an incident occurred in 2013 where Jasmine’s mother, Cassidy, called the police to have her husband, Declan, arrested. Ms. Hands, the eldest of her five siblings, was reported to have provided damning testimony against her father during his trial, ensuring a maximum sentence. Declan was sentenced to 20 years in MCI-Cedar Junction for multiple counts of domestic assault, sexual assault, and assault of a minor.
Declan served five years of his 20 year sentence before meeting a violent end at the hands of a group of inmates that call themselves the Vindicators. Rumor among the inmates claims the riot was orchestrated to be able to take out several known or suspected child offenders. However, no one seems able to confirm if Declan Hands was an intended target, or simply collateral damage.
