Connecticut
Articles
11/30/2009 – The Hartford Courant: “Let’s Close A Prison: Fewer Inmates, Recommendation due today on prison closing“
From the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, Connecticut went on a jail-building spree, spending more than $1 billion on new or expanded prisons. This get-tough-on-crime campaign probably improved public safety to some degree, but at a staggering cost.
04/22/2008 – The New York Times: “Crime and Punishment in Connecticut“
“Two horrifying crimes have exposed serious weaknesses in Connecticut’s criminal justice system. But a “three strikes and you’re out” law proposed by Gov. M. Jodi Rell and Republicans in the Legislature would do more harm than good.”
1/14/2007 – The New York Times: “Anything But More Prisons”
“Connecticut’s prison population, at 19,000, is inching up toward record levels, reversing a trend of slight reductions over the last two years. Incarcerating people in overcrowded facilities is inhumane and always expensive: it costs $29,500 a year to imprison each person. This problem did not develop overnight. The prison population rose steadily from the late 1980s until 2003. And the recent increase is not surprising, especially in light of last year’s rising crime rate. But the important thing to remember is that prison is not an answer to crime; bigger prison populations reflect society’s failure to find answers.”
10/25/2006 – Hartford Courant: “Union Lists Prison Safety Issues: Overcrowding Among the Complaints”, by Diane Struzzi
“Prison overcrowding so severe that 900 inmates must sleep on floors is one of several issues Gov. M. Jodi Rell and the state correction commissioner have ignored for months, leaders of the union representing correctional staff said Tuesday.”
12/21/2005 – The Wall Street Journal: “To Cut Prison Bill, States Tweak Laws, Try Early Releases,” by Gary Fields
“When Theresa Lantz took over as Connecticut’s corrections commissioner in early 2003, the state’s prison and jail population had hit a high of 19,320 inmates. Prisons were so crowded that 500 state inmates were being housed in Virginia – at an annual cost of $12 million – and an additional 2,000 were about to be shipped.”
“Less than three years later, the state’s prison and jail population is down 6.2%, and state inmates are all housed in Connecticut. Ms. Lantz credits a state law that promoted the release of less-dangerous offenders—for example, by letting those accused of minor crimes stay home while awaiting trial.”