Conn. still in need of prison reform

AA lawsuit opposing solitary confinement and the shackling of Connecticut inmates spotlights several issues that resonate in 2022. Social isolation means something different for most of us than it did in 2019. Many people accept the likelihood of emotional scars from the early months of the pandemic, when students were taught virtually and seniors and others living alone were cut off from social contact.

And ever since Dec. 14, 2012, that spotlight keeps drifting back to the issue of addressing mental health as one of the remedies to reducing gun violence in our nation.

Experts, and many families, recognize that we are at a crisis point as mental health issues mount. The need is high, and available services are at a premium.

At a time when it’s difficult to find resources to address anxiety among students, Connecticut is still struggling with how it deals with its most extreme cases of mental illness.

Among the many executive orders issued by Gov. Ned Lamont last year was one that limited use of isolation and in-cell restraints in state prisons. Lamont also announced the closure of Northern Correctional Institution, which used isolation cells for inmates with disciplinary problems.

But concerns were quickly raised that Northern’s notorious practices were transferred along with inmates. Shackles aren’t entirely hidden from public view, as they occasionally make appearances in courtrooms. But inmates and staff members have described prisoners being chained while showering, or put in tethers that leave them unable to use a toilet and force them to eat off the floor. Several states continue to shackle some pregnant prisoners.

Attorney Elana Bildner, representing the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, acknowledges that progress has been made, but said the “experiences of being shackled have continued unabated.”

An existing complaint was amended May 18 to reflect claims the Department of Corrections’ (DOC) use of restraints may have increased after Lamont’s orders.

“By shackling and isolating them for behaviors that are related to their illness, it’s causing a downward spiral that makes people sicker and often sicker for life,” Bildner said.

Advocates retain hope that the issue of solitary confinement might be addressed by the formation of an independent advisory board for the DOC.

Of even greater concern is resistance to reducing use of shackles. The lawsuit was initially filed in February of last year by the ACLU, Disability Rights Connecticut and a Yale Law School legal clinic. They continue to press forward in the face of reluctance to reform such practices.

It’s not an easy issue, as prison guards need to keep themselves safe, along with colleagues and inmates. But Bildner’s point is one that everyone needs to understand about mental illness. Punishing the mental ill for behavior triggered by their

illness is never a solution. The same principle applies if the person is in prison or in grade school.

It’s not just the people running the prisons who need more education on mental illness. We all need to show empathy and, yes, restraint.

Punishing the mental ill for behavior triggered by their illness is never a solution. The same principle applies if the person is in prison or in grade school.