Pubdate: Wed, 08 Dec 2004
Source: Bristol Press (CT)
Copyright: 2004, The Bristol Press
Contact:  http://www.bristolpress.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/569
Author: Gregory B. Hladky

LAST CONN PRISONERS RETURN FROM VIRGINIA

HARTFORD -- Connecticut's controversial experiment of sending prison
inmates to be housed in Virginia facilities ended last weekend with
the return of the final 57 state prisoners, Gov. M. Jodi Rell said
Tuesday. The return of those inmates from the Greensville Correctional
Center means that all 428 Connecticut prisoners sent out of state are
now back in this state in time for the holidays.

Under former Gov. John G. Rowland, sending Connecticut inmates to
out-of-state prisons was a way of easing overcrowding in prisons here
and to avoiding costly construction of new facilities.

But Rell said new efforts to focus on alternative drug treatment
programs for non-violent offenders and on better supervision of
released prisoners has resulted in more available space in Connecticut
facilities.

"We haven't saved that much money," Rell said of the out-of-state
prison experiment. "We believe it is the best policy and the best use
of tax dollars to keep our prisoners in our own facilities."

Rell defended the original decision to send inmates out of state to
avoid prison overcrowding, a move that was approved by the General
Assembly.

But the state House chairman of the legislature's Judiciary Committee,
state Rep. Michael P. Lawlor, D-East Haven, insisted that "It was
clearly bad public policy, a failed experiment."

Lawlor said that sending prisoners out of state "cost a lot more than
they said it would," including more than $2 million to settle lawsuits
for alleged mistreatment of Connecticut prisoners in Virginia. Lawlor
also said the original claim that only "the worst of the worst" would
be transferred to Virginia prisons also turned out to be untrue.

According to Lawlor, Connecticut needs to continue to push bipartisan
efforts to reduce prison populations through alternative sentencing
programs and other reforms. "You spend less and get more," Lawlor said.

State officials say the new policies have cut Connecticut's prison
population to about 18,400 offenders, approximately 500 fewer than one
year ago.

"The reduction in our prison population is the result of our
commitment to a smarter incarceration policy," said Rell. The governor
said the new emphasis on community-based programs as alternatives to
incarceration has a better chance of succeeding "if offenders serve
their sentences in-state" close to their families and state services.

Connecticut first sent state inmates to Virginia in October 1999. They
were housed at Virginia's Wallens Ridge maximum-security prison at Big
Stone Gap until 2001, when all Connecticut inmates were transferred to
Greensville Correctional Center.

Virginia officials announced last spring that they wouldn't renew
their contract to take Connecticut inmates. Rell said in August that
Connecticut wouldn't seek any contracts with other prison systems to
house Connecticut inmates outside this state.

onnecticut inmates began returning in September in batches of 80
prisoners, who were then distributed to appropriate correctional
facilities around the state.

"If we can afford to do it, and we can have the space available, then
those sentenced by our courts should be here," Rell said.

"Preserving the public's safety and putting offenders on a more
constructive path in life can be handled most efficiently and
cost-effectively by the correctional professionals that we have here,"
said Rell.
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