|
|
| From prison to the Elm City |
| By Isaac Arnsdorf - Yale Daily News |
| Published: 03/06/2009 |
|
Hartford, CT - An unmarked burgundy van turned off Whalley Avenue and rolled slowly into a secluded parking lot. There was nothing about it that gave away its function, except perhaps the steel mesh behind the black tinted windows. Nor were its passengers dressed in orange jumpsuits. Escorted by two uniformed marshals, three men in baggy heather-gray sweat suits stepped out of the van. With slow and weary steps, each man walked toward the lobby, clutching everything he owns. The first had a stuffed envelope, the second carried a cardboard box and leaned on a wooden cane and the third held a 944-page secondhand hardcover about Abraham Lincoln. Just before 8 a.m. this brisk Tuesday in New Haven, these three, driven here from the Osborn Correctional Institution in Somers an hour north, breathed the fresh air as free men for the first time in years. It was people like these — about 30 of them every week — that raised community concerns and sparked a showdown between city and state officials over the past year. When prisoners are released in Connecticut, the state Department of Correction transports them to the jail nearest to their destination. The second-busiest drop-off site (behind only Hartford) is the Whalley Avenue jail, less than a mile away from Yale’s central campus. COMMUNITY PROTESTS With dozens of former inmates — who may or may not have anywhere to go — turning up on the city’s doorstep weekly, the neighborhood protested. Mayor John DeStefano Jr. accused the state of “dumping” ex-cons in New Haven, burdening the city’s social services and contributing to its violent crime. Gov. M. Jodi Rell shot back: New Haven was trying to “dump” its crime problems on the state of Connecticut, she said. After weeks of political sparring between the former campaign rivals (Rell beat out DeStefano’s 2006 gubernatorial bid), DeStefano met with Department of Correction Commissioner Theresa Lantz last March to come up with a new plan to smooth prisoners’ transition back into society. Since then, the state has adjusted its protocol in response to New Haven’s concerns. “We do not dump people,” said Brian Garnett, a spokesman for the Department of Correction. “When someone finishes a sentence, we will take them to the closest corrections center to their home. We will drop them off.” Instead of just cutting them loose at the curb, since last spring, corrections officers bring the ex-convicts into the lobby, where they wait until someone comes to pick them up or they can arrange other means of transportation. The city has received no complaints since the change was made, New Haven Community Services Administrator Kica Matos said. “When prisoners are dropped off, they are taken inside the jail so that transportation and so on can be coordinated for them,” City Hall spokeswoman Jessica Mayorga said. “So they’re not wandering on Whalley Avenue.” Three days of observing the process found that though the prisoners are no longer being left on the sidewalk, they sometimes walk right back outside. STEPPING ONTO THE CURB Indeed, the routine is different now, noticed the man with the book about Lincoln. He is David Martinsen, 45, and he would know. He’s been convicted 10 times on charges including breach of peace, public indecency, carrying a dangerous weapon and possessing narcotics, according to court records. His most recent sentence, three years for burglary, ended Feb. 24. He was woken up at 3:30 a.m, but he hadn’t slept anyway — he said he was too anxious. At 8 a.m., he waited inside the lobby of the Whalley Avenue jail for the banks to open and for the rising sun to warm up the 23-degree morning. “It’s cold outside,” he said, “but it’s way better than being in there.” The first man he arrived with left soon after. He said he was headed home to Waterbury but declined to take a ride with the corrections officers. Instead they gave him a bus fare token. He took his envelope, which held a check to be cashed, and headed to the Shaw’s grocery store across the street. The second ex-con, the one with the cane, waited until a man he recognized showed up for him. “Do I have to sign you out?” the man asked. “No,” the guard answered: “He’s free.” The two left together. Martinsen also took a bus token, but he waited another half-hour, while two inmates started mopping the floor around his feet. When the banks open, Martinsen said he plans to cash a check, grab a cup of coffee and ride a bus to Union Station. He has never lived in New Haven, but he wanted to come to here “because everything is so central,” he said — from the jail, it’s a straight-shot to the bank, the bus, the train station and New York. From there, he said, he’ll catch a train to Albany, where his sisters live. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
Comments:
Login to let us know what you think
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Waco has developed a reputation for a rocket-docket in patent litigation. It’s an important choice to find the right lawyer in Waco for your important patent litigation matter. When people in the know make the hire, they hire Dunnam & Dunnam. Lawyers that are competent, hard-working, focused are a rare find. Few attorneys have the commitment to quality, collegiality, and loyalty of the Waco accident lawyer, You can search for attorneys with loyalty, leadership, accountability. These attorneys show financial generosity and a sense of fairness to their colleagues. For nearly 100 years, people in Waco have hired the firm when the results matter. at Dunnam & Dunnam are among the most respected in the Central Texas area. They have the experience in trials and mediations to guide your case in the right way. There are few important decisions at the outset of the case that can turn the tide in your favor. Choosing the right lawyer is one of them.