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| Human Rights Group Wants Inmates In State |
| By The Hartford Courant |
| Published: 10/06/2000 |
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Connecticitu human rights officials are trying to force the return next month of all Connecticut inmates now being held in Virginia. The Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities wants the prisoners returned because of allegations that inmates at Wallens Ridge prison have had inadequate access to medical treatment and have been targets of abuse and racial taunts from officers, according to departmental memorandums and commission sources. The CHRO is trying to prevent the state Department of Correction from renewing its contract with Virginia, which expires Oct. 21. The department needed a waiver from the CHRO to enter into a contract because Virginia does not comply with Connecticut affirmative action and anti-discrimination laws. The CHRO granted a waiver last October to allow the initial transfer of prisoners, but rescinded it June 15, a week after meeting with correction officials. Prison officials argue that the contract does not end for two more years and that the CHRO's previous approval remains in effect. The vote to rescind the waiver has no legal standing, they say. The attorney general's office is being asked to determine which agency is on the right side of the politically sensitive debate. The decision to send the inmates to Virginia to ease crowding has been fiercely criticized by state activists and lawmakers who contend the prisoners have been victims of abuse and neglect at Wallens Ridge in Big Stone Gap. The CHRO has announced its intention to go to Wallens to investigate conditions there. Correction Commissioner John J. Armstrong is trying to convince state officials that aside from the legal argument, there are public safety reasons to keep the Connecticut inmates in Virginia. In a July 18 letter to the CHRO, Armstrong said forcing the Department of Correction to end the contract would have potential “adverse effects upon the safety of the public, the staff and the inmate population” and curtail current efforts to develop a long-term in-state strategy to manage the state's growing prison population. Since the transfer of Connecticut inmates began late last year, approximately 480 inmates have been moved to Wallens Ridge, a maximum-security facility. Two inmates, David Tracy and Lawrence Frazier, have died under questionable circumstances and numerous complaints of mistreatment have been lodged by inmates. Roughly 130 inmates have been transferred to Greensville Correctional Center in southeastern Virginia. |
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