The “Empathy Tour” last week in Bridgeport was sponsored by Cut 50, a group working to cut crime and the country’s prison population in half. There will be another roundtable tonight in Hartford, at Thirman L. Milner School from 6 to 8 p.m.
Kelan Lyons
Kelan is a Report For America Corps Member who covers the intersection of mental health and criminal justice for CT Mirror. Before joining CT Mirror, Kelan was a staff writer for City Weekly, an alt weekly in Salt Lake City, Utah, and a courts reporter for The Bryan-College Station Eagle, in Texas. He is originally from Philadelphia.
Federal ruling on conditions of confinement leaves state unsure of next step
State officials are not saying yet whether they intend to appeal a ruling that the state holds former death row inmates in cruel and unusual conditions.
Mental illness is a distraction in conversations on gun violence, advocates say
Advocates and lawmakers say it’s imperative to untangle the issue of mental illness from mass shootings and address the real problem: access to guns.
Council begins study of discrimination against people with criminal records
Connecticut residents with criminal records face 559 barriers that can limit their ability to lead successful lives after they’ve been released from prison.
Civil rights vs. security: Whiting Task Force considers changes to state law
A task force formed in the wake of a patient abuse scandal is reviewing the search policy at Whiting Forensic Hospital, discussing how to balance safety and patients’ civil rights.
Prisons will add staff to screen for Hepatitis C
The Department of Correction could temporarily hire about 30 staff members to start testing its inmates for Hepatitis C sometime over the next month, a spokesperson said Thursday afternoon.
Manson prison holding fewer and fewer young adults, teens
Last month there were only 43 young boys confined at the state’s high-security prison in Cheshire. Three years ago there were 76.
CT’s ‘red flag’ law — an early, but narrow, effort to take guns
Since Connecticut approved its “red flag” law in 1999, nearly 2,000 risk warrants have been issued, but now some are taking a second look at the law.
Correction Department to begin testing, treating inmates for Hepatitis C
Facing a federal lawsuit, the Department of Correction says it will begin testing and treating inmates for the Hepatitis C virus this fall.
Federal judge: Prison Hepatitis C lawsuit will advance
A federal judge has allowed a handful of inmates to pursue a class-action lawsuit that could force Connecticut’s prisons to screen and treat thousands of inmates for the Hepatitis C virus — a measure that could save lives and cost the state millions of dollars.
Connecticut Democrats rally for tougher gun control measures
Connecticut Democrats rallied Monday for stronger federal gun control measures in the wake of last weekend’s mass shootings in Texas and Ohio.
From prison to practice: Connecticut man hopes to start bar association for formerly incarcerated lawyers
Dieter Tejada is working to knock down the barriers faced by formerly incarcerated lawyers by starting the National Justice Impact Bar Association.
Lamont orders restructuring of state’s human resources operations
Lamont has ordered his staff to create a human resources centralization plan that officials said could save Connecticut $10 million every year.
New data shows more black, Latino children live in poverty than whites
Poverty rates of white children stayed relatively stable, between 4% and 6%, between 2005 and 2017, while those for black and Latino children fluctuated between 20% and 34%. The data also shows that one in five black children, and one in five Latino youth, live in concentrated poverty, compared to one in 100 white children.
Six Cheshire Correctional Institution employees test negative for fentanyl exposure
The Department of Correction initially believed six hospitalized prison employees had been exposed to fentanyl. The illnesses are being investigated by state police and DOC.