Our Legislative Advocacy to Limit the use of Isolation in Ct.
Our campaign’s primary goal began with the abolishment of solitary confinement in Connecticut. Solitary, defined by international minimum standards of care as spending 22 or more hours in a cell a day. In order to develop a comprehensive strategy to work towards ending solitary confinement, we spent months working with Yale Lowenstein Clinic professor, Hope Metcalf, guided by true experts, those with lived experiences of being incarcerated in Connecticut and their families. The result of this process was the PROTECT Act which stands for Promoting Responsible Oversight, Treatment and Effective Transparency.
The PROTECT Act passed the state House and Senate in June 2021, but Governor Lamont vetoed the bill and issued an executive order that failed to adequately address the misuse of isolation in Connecticut prisons. (Learn why the executive order falls short here.) SSCT rejected the alternative and reintroduced legislation, 2022 PROTECT Act to close loopholes in the executive order and bring Connecticut in line with the United Nations' Mandela Rules to end human rights violations in Connecticut prisons that had been allowed to persist for decades. While working toward ending prolonged isolation which led to a high level of mental illness among the incarcerated population, we decided to extend our work to include addressing inhumane conditions and restoring rehabilitation to Connecticut Corrections. PROTECT Act 2022 was again passed and this time around signed into law. Now the job of implementation and full enforcement of the law is a continuing challenge.
NEW 02/2023: After passing both chambers of the state legislature with bipartisan support, the PROTECT Act was signed into law by Governor Lamont in May, 2022. Part of the legislation was the establishment of an independent advisory board who has the charge of hiring an ombudsperson to monitor CT DOC. That person is responsible for going into facilities, speaking with the incarcerated population as well as inspect DOC policies. In a last-minute behind the scenes maneuver, two legislators inserted an amendment that allowed them to appoint two members to the Corrections Advisory Committee. Both with close ties to DOC. This legislative maneuvering is unacceptable, and Stop Solitary CT has brought this to the attention of the public and the legislative body. One legislator, Rep Toni Walker introduced legislation to make both persons non- voting members of the advisory committee. SSCT wants them off the board entirely so we will continue to push for an independent board. In the meantime the committee is working on the hiring of an ombudsperson. We have an awesome team and so we expect a great outcome relative to their choice. SSCT remains involved in that process.
