Veterans’ support group seeks release of at-risk inmates

NEW HAVEN — Veterans groups are asking Gov. Ned Lamont to release at-risk inmates who are veterans in order to guard their health from the second wave of COVID-19 and to protect others still incarcerated by enforcing social distancing rules and testing protocols.

On Veterans Day, led by the National Veterans Council for Legal Redress, they also are asking that the state provide access to mental health, particularly for those suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder, and to legal support services.

The Veterans Legal Services Clinic of the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization at Yale Law School represents NVCLR in this matter.

Messages seeking comment were left with the External Affairs Division of the Connecticut Department of Correction and Lamont’s office.

In its letter to Lamont and Angel Quiros, the interim commissioner of corrections, it said Connecticut veterans are older than the national average for Connecticut residents and many have service-related disabilities, heightening their risk.

The group pointed to the charges by the ACLU of Connecticut on Oct. 28 that the state allegedly had failed to comply with the court-mandated terms of the McPherson v. Lamont settlement that requires the department to provide masks, distribute soap and quarantine those who have tested positive for COVID-19. It said families and lawyers visiting their clients reported issues at all 14 prisons.

The ACLU and the DOC reached a settlement in June.

The groups point to the steady rise of COVID-19 cases in the state, with the 7-day average of cases jumping from 69 new cases per day on Sept. 7 to 988 new cases per day on Nov. 8.

On Oct. 13, the Hartford Correctional Institute reported that 56 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19. Throughout the prison population in the state, the Department of Correction said symptomatic cases had increased from zero on Sept. 21 to 3 on Oct. 28, while asymptomatic cases increased from 6 on Oct. 11 to 49 cases on Oct. 28, the group reported based on the COVID tracker on the DOC website.

Prison staff also have been testing positive more frequently, with cases increasing from 12 on Sept. 21 to 55 on Oct. 28, the tracker shows.

The numbers posted on the tracker as Nov. 6 were: 84 staff members recovering from the virus; and 4 inmates symptomatic and 11 asymptomatic. The state reported that 1,686 inmates had tested positive while 1,670 have recovered; 7 died.

The state expedited its early release program in April in light of the public health crisis.

“The Department of Correction and the governor have the power to act now to protect veterans. Our asks are simple: enforce social distancing, provide basic cleaning supplies, offer sufficient mental health resources, and allow access to basic legal services,” NVCLR Executive Director Garry Monk, an Air Force veteran, said. “On this Veterans Day, we want to remind the state that it has an obligation to all those willing to risk their lives for this country to ensure that they are not sacrificed by this country.”

On some of the specifics, the group said the long hours inmates spend in their cells reduces their contact with other inmates, but when they all are released to recreational activities at the same time, they congregate without following social distancing rules.

The group said inmates should not have to share cleaning supplies and alleged that cellmates of inmates testing positive are not always quarantined.

On access to pro bono legal counsel, NVCLR said when inmates are released they will need help with issues related to veteran benefit applications and discharge upgrades that can help with the transition back to the community.

It is asking that groups such as the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center be allowed virtual visits, socially distanced visits from lawyers or that the DOC eliminate the limited phone access for legal advice.

The National Veterans Council for Legal Redress is a Connecticut-based veterans service organization that advocates on behalf of veterans and offers veterans support in obtaining employment, medical and educational benefits, and meals, clothing, transportation, and housing. It is asking for a meeting with Lamont and Quiros.