The New Britain Racial Justice Coalition (NBRJC) has announced that it will host a protest for advocate for incarcerated people.
The Coalition plans to host a protest at the offices of the state Department of Corrections, located in Wethersfield, on Saturday, February 5, 2022 at 12:00pm.
The protest is a part of the Coalition’s “Alternatives to Incarceration Campaign”, in which the organization says it is calling on, “state legislators to protect incarcerated children and adults by diverting them away from prison and towards stable housing, mental health & addiction services and employment.”
The Coalition says that it, “works closely with incarcerated people and their families who have been significantly impacted by the pandemic.”
“The incarcerated people we work with continue to complain about correctional officers not wearing masks, quarantine protocols not being followed and a general lack of COVID-19 testing,” said Alicia Strong, the Lead Community Organizer for the Coalition’s Alternatives to Incarceration Campaign.
“Their loved ones share how lockdowns and quarantines have made it more difficult to make phone calls and have virtual visits with loved ones,” said Strong. “The mental health situation inside is really bad and nothing is being done about.”
“Only 80% of staff wear masks and wear them correctly. The rest don’t and they are not giving extra soap or any at all,” the Coalition quoted a woman incarcerated at York Correctional Facility the Coalition as saying, adding that she, “wishes to remain anonymous due to fear of retaliation.”
“Half the time they don’t let you clean your room,” the Coalition quoted the woman saying. “I work in the common area. They don’t even let us clean the railings. We have to sneak to clean the railing. If we clean the railing and they see us they yell at us.”
The woman, in the Coalition’s statement, added that people incarcerated as well as prison staff are commonly contracting COVID-19 and that the resulting staff shortages are restricting access to mental health services.
As of February 2, 2022, the state Department of correction reported that 163 incarcerated people are, “COVID-19 symptomatic,” and that there are 339, “staff currently recovering for COVID-19.” The Department also reports another 334 incarcerated people as, “COVID-19 asymptomatic (no symptoms).”
The Coalition has issued a list of demands, “to protect incarcerated people during the pandemic.”
The demands include a call for emergency release of people incarcerated in prisons and jails who are, “Elderly, pregnant and immunocompromised,” ” Level 1s & 2s who are currently in a facility with a higher level,” and “All people incarcerated for non-violent offense.”
The Coalition is further demanding that, “Emergency release must include funding for housing, employment and mental health & addiction services to help people transition out of incarceration.”
Other demands include, “information and access to the COVID-19 vaccine,” COVID testing, “PPE, soap, and hand sanitizer,” and “proper medical care for incarcerated people that does not subject individuals to conditions of solitary confinement or inhumane isolation.”
The Department of Correction says that 5,003 incarcerated people are vaccinated as of February 2, 2022 and that the total in number of persons incarcerated was 9,496 as of December of 2021.
“It’s been 2 years and there still isn’t a comprehensive or transparent plan to handle COVID-19 in the Connecticut Department of Corrections,” the Coalition’s statement quoted Lynn Ofori, a member of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice, saying.
“As a person who has family and friends who’ve been incarcerated,” said Ofori in the Coalition’s statement. “I think about the lack of care they would receive if they were currently locked up during this pandemic,” calling for the state, “to create a legitimate plan to #FreeThemNowCT.”
“Incarcerated people are people, and their lives and health matter,” the Coalition quoted Gus Marks-Hamilton of ACLU Smart Justice Connecticut saying.
The Coalition says that it,
is joining other statewide organizations to demand more releases from CT prisons, coupled with housing, mental health and other critical services people need to re-enter society during the pandemic. We are also calling for more transparency regarding COVID-19 protocols and an improvement to the current conditions in the prison system. We hope the CT DOC and state legislators will take action to address these issues.
