Beatty v Lamont

“I am speaking out because I don’t want anyone else to go through what I’m going through. It’s not just about me, it’s about the tens of thousands of people coming out after me." - Teresa Beatty

Nearly twenty years ago, from 2000 to 2002, Teresa Beatty was incarcerated for drug charges. Today, Ms. Beatty is a certified nursing assistant, a Stamford resident, a mother and grandmother, and a caretaker for her older brother, who is disabled. In 2020, her mother passed away, leaving Ms. Beatty a portion of the home where Ms. Beatty, her brother, and her family live. Once that home is sold, Ms. Beatty will desperately need her inheritance to put a roof over her and her family’s heads. Yet shortly after her mother’s death, the State of Connecticut came after Ms. Beatty, demanding $83,762.26 for her time in custody, including when she was incarcerated pre-trial because she could not afford bail.

“No family should have to bury a child, and the state is making that pain worse. I will never stop grieving Jayson. The settlement in his death was the best acknowledgment we could get that they took his life, and that it was wrong. The state trying to take that money forces me and my family to relive the trauma of Jayson’s death, and it has left me angry and hurt. By joining this lawsuit, I am fighting for myself and for other families, because none of us should have to go through this.” - Natasha Tosado
 

Natasha Tosado of Hamden is a mother, licensed pharmacy technician, and mentor to women and children experiencing homelessness and domestic violence. Natasha was incarcerated from July 2016 to April 2018. On May 9, 2017, while Natasha was incarcerated, Bridgeport police officer James Boulay shot and killed her 15-year-old son, Jayson. In 2020, the administrator of Jayson’s estate, in cooperation with Natasha and Jayson’s father, filed a lawsuit against the City of Bridgeport and James Boulay. In December 2022, the City agreed to pay Jayson’s estate to settle the lawsuit, and Natasha was to receive a portion. Now, the state is attempting to keep part of that settlement from Natasha under its prison debt law. She joined Beatty v Lamont as a plaintiff on April 20, 2023. 

“I went to prison at 22, served my time, and got out at 24 years old. I have been sober since the day I went inside in 2002. I paid the price for my actions dearly when I lost my freedom, and I thought my debt was paid. Nobody told me that 20 years down the line, the state would be asking me and my family to pay the price again. It’s bad enough that the state is harming me, but by trying to take our family’s land, it’s also hurting my brother and defiling my father’s wishes. I’m part of this lawsuit to make my and other families’ voices heard, because the state’s prison debt law puts us in impossible situations.” - Doug Johnson

Doug Johnson of Branford is a husband, father, mason, Alcoholics/Narcotics anonymous sponsor, and active member of the recovery community. Nearly twenty years ago, from February 2002 to March 2004, he was incarcerated. In 2016, Doug’s mother passed away, leaving him a small amount of money, which the state took a portion of for “prison debt.” In 2021, Doug’s father passed away, leaving him and his brother $10,000 and some cherished family heirlooms: a boat that’s been in their family since 2007, land and a cabin in North Guilford that has been passed on for over fifty years, and a truck that their father used to drive. Doug was going to use his share of the money to help pay for his daughter’s college tuition, and he and his brother hoped to keep his father’s boat, truck, and land to remember their father and make new family memories. Now, the state is attempting to charge Doug $74,652.58 for “prison debt,” which would force him and his brother to sell those items.