The ACLU of Connecticut said the State Department of Correction isn’t following court-ordered measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in prisons.
The ACLU said state prisons have failed to provide masks, clean common areas and quarantine people who test positive for COVID-19 — among other things. The organization claims this information came from people who are incarcerated, their families and from attorneys who have visited the prisons.
The measures stem from a court settlement earlier this year. The ACLU sued the state on behalf of incarcerated people calling for more safety measures and the release of some vulnerable prisoners.
The Department of Corrections said earlier this month more than 50 people tested positive for COVID-19 at one prison in Hartford.
The Department of Correction said in a statement it wasn’t aware of the violations and is currently looking into them. It said the letter has been referred to a monitoring panel set up after the settlement.
