What you will find on this page
In the settlement in McPherson v Lamont, the Department of Correction (DOC) is required to report the ACLU of Connecticut’s lawyers, on the first business day of the month, two types of information:
- COVID-19 testing: the total cumulative number of incarcerated people tested for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic by facility, and the results of those tests; and
- Discretionary releases: for the previous month (l) the number of people reviewed for discretionary release; (2) the number of people granted discretionary release; and (3) the number of people denied discretionary release. Note that these are discretionary releases by DOC, not the Board of Pardon and Paroles (BOPP), which has its own system of medical and compassionate parole that it operates completely independently.
On this page, you will find the information provided by the DOC to the ACLU of Connecticut’s attorneys regarding testing and discretionary releases. The ACLU of Connecticut will post this information when we receive it.
In addition, the settlement agreement established a five-person monitoring panel for medical oversight, which is required to issue monthly reports. When the monitoring panel issues a report, we will post that report and any subsequent others on this page.
A note regarding the information on this page
The information below is self-reported by the Department of Correction. It is therefore neither a complete nor, potentially, accurate representation of the situation faced by people who are incarcerated. For example, regarding discretionary releases, the August numbers do not add up, and information provided by the DOC does not give context (such as age; racial/ethnic demographic data; end of sentence date to determine whether the release was meaningfully “early”; or whether COVID-19 was a factor in the consideration for release) that would help analyze whether the DOC’s releases meaningfully take COVID-19 into account. As another example, regarding testing, the method by which the DOC has self-determined “symptomatic” vs “asymptomatic” is unclear. While the information provided by the DOC may not be complete or the whole story, it is the most complete information publicly available to date regarding the number of discretionary releases and testing.
We want to hear from you
Our hope is that transparency regarding what the DOC self-reports regarding discretionary releases and testing will enable people with direct knowledge to come forward with more information and context regarding whether the DOC is complying with its court-mandated requirements for preventing the spread of COVID-19 in prisons and jails. If you or your loved one are incarcerated, we want to know about whether and how your or your loved one’s facility is complying with the settlement terms. We’ve set up an email address and phone line, because the more people share about what is happening, the better chance we all have of holding the DOC accountable to the settlement. You can email us at prisoncovid AT acluct.org, or leave us a voicemail at (860) 523-9146 x.6. We want and need to hear from you.
