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Source: CT Office of Policy and Management
Prison reform will be a major focus of ACLU-CT in the coming legislative session. The prison population has almost quadrupled in the last 25 years, leading to overcrowding.
The 2011 agenda regarding prisons was foreshadowed at a forum sponsored by the Central Connecticut chapter at the University of Connecticut Law School in late November. Five experts discussed prison overcrowding and suggested approaches that could mitigate the problem. Among the issues discussed:
Prisoners are overwhelmingly black and Hispanic, in numbers that are widely disproportionate to the population of the state.
Most prisoners are incarcerated because of non-violent offenses such as drug-related crimes or mere possession.
A factor contributing to the high prison population is that "good time" -- the reduction of sentences for good behavior -- was eliminated in 1994.
The prison population has nearly quadrupled over the past twenty five years, although the crime rate has decreased.
Recidivism rates in Connecticut are among the highest in the country.
One major problem is the lack of mental health services in the state's prisons and the large number of prisoners who are mentally ill.
Attacking this issue through the courts is difficult for several reasons: the standard for a successful legal challenge on Eighth Amendment grounds of cruel and indifferent punishment is "deliberate indifference," which is difficult to prove. It is also hard to find potential plaintiffs due to their fear of retaliation.
David McGuire, ACLU-CT's staff lawyer, is currently interviewing prisoners as part of an investigation to determine whether inmates have been unconstitutionally deprived of necessary medical and mental health treatment.
Several speakers at the law school forum said they were hopeful that Governor-elect Dan Malloy might respond to the prison problem, and that approaching the issue from a cost-savings approach, as well as a civil-liberties angle, might be successful. ACLU-CT will be collaborating with experts in the prison-rights field to propose strategies to address the problem.
Some other resources you may want to consider:
A study in 2000 by the legislature's Program Review and Investigations Committee: What is Causing Prison Overcrowding?
Connecticut Mirror news story: Prison Population Heads to a Five-Year Low, but still high than targets set.
State Office of Policy and Management's Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division - Monthly Indicators Report for December 2010.
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