|
|
| Conn. Panel: Renew Virginia Prison Pact |
| By Hartford Courant |
| Published: 02/11/2002 |
|
A state panel studying prison crowding is calling for renewal of a contract with Virginia to house Connecticut inmates and the expansion of in-state facilities. The Prison and Jail Overcrowding Commission released eight recommendations in a recent report to legislators. Among other ideas, the commission wants the state to hire more parole officers and increase the number of in-patient beds for pre-trial inmates with mental health issues. 'We think the commission's recommendations are balanced,' said Christina Polce, a spokeswoman for the Department of Correction. She said the recommendations take into account the reality that more space is needed to accommodate violent offenders coming into prison while still addressing the needs of inmates in community supervision suffering from substance abuse and mental illness. Lawmakers were troubled by the recommendations to extend the contract with Virginia and to expand in-state capacity because they are the most costly and least effective ways to address crowding. The state Department of Correction in 1999 sent 500 inmates to Wallens Ridge prison in Big Stone Gap, Va., to ease crowding. The decision was criticized by prisoner-right's advocates and the family and friends of the inmates. Some state legislators and state agencies joined the call to return the inmates after two Connecticut inmates died at Wallens Ridge in 2000 under questionable circumstances. Inmate David Tracy, who had only a few months remaining on his 21/2 year sentence, hanged himself in a cell and inmate Lawrence Frazier, a diabetic, died of cardiac arrhythmia after being shocked with a stun gun and placed in restraints. |
advertise
|
privacy policy
|
add URL
|
about us
|
terms/disclaimer
|
contact us
|
join our team
|
help
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think