Connecticut Department of Correction

An inmate at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution has died from complications related to COVID-19, according to the state Department of Correction. The 78-year-old man was being treated in the facility’s infirmary and died early Wednesday morning, according to the Department of Correction. They said he suffered from several significant underlying health issues. The man had contracted and recovered from COVID-19...

The Connecticut Department of Correction plans to close Northern Correctional Institution, a maximum-security prison in Somers, by July 1. Gov. Ned Lamont released a statement, saying closing the facility will save the state approximately $12.6 million per year in operating costs and that the decision is “largely attributed to the significant drop in the state’s incarcerated population,” which decreased by…

Connecticut’s unionized prison guards expressed anger Wednesday over what they say is the lack of a plan to vaccinate them against COVID-19. Jody Barr, the executive director of AFSCME Council 4, said the union was told there would be a plan to vaccinate prison employees by early January, but they have yet to hear when they might get the vaccine,…

Connecticut Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe said the Biden Administration’s plan to increase vaccine allocation means an increase from 46,000 to 53,000 first doses per week for at least the next three weeks.

An inmate who was at Osborn Correctional Institution has died from complications of coronavirus, according to the state Department of Correction. The 53-year-old man had been transferred to a hospital on Nov. 27 and died on Monday, according to the state Department of Correction. His name was not released. Officials said the man first entered into the Department of Correction’s…

A federal inmate who was being held under the supervision of the Connecticut Department of Correction has passed away from complications related to the coronavirus, according to state officials.  The 57-year-old man had been transferred from the agency’s Bridgeport Correctional Center to a hospital for treatment on Jan. 2 and he died on Saturday, according to the state Department...

Since coronavirus entered the U.S., nearly 16,000 have fallen ill of COVID-19 and 134 have died. That number does not include people incarcerated in state prisons across the U.S. The Marshall Project’s criminal justice reporter Keri Blakinger explains why the general public should care about protecting people in prisons.

Gov. Ned Lamont is nominating Department of Corrections interim commissioner Angel Quiros to become the department’s permanent leader, the governor announced Wednesday.

The Connecticut Department of Correction has released results of its COVID-19 mass testing efforts, revealing a positive test percentage of 9%. In May the DOC began testing as many of its prisoners and staff. Out of the 9,504 prisoners tested across the system, 832 were positive. Officials said all but two tested as part of the mass testing effort were…

Inmate Michael Liebowitz reached out after our NBC CT Investigates stories on how the Connecticut Department of Correction has handled the coronavirus outbreak

Questions remain about how well coronavirus can be contained in our state prisons.  A week ago, the Connecticut Department of Correction announced more than 100 prisoners tested in one of its facilities tested positive for the virus.  System-wide, there have been six coronavirus-related inmate deaths. It has begged the question, is the Connecticut Department of Correction taking enough steps...

More than 300 corrections officers answered our exclusive survey about their concerns over coronavirus and its risks.

Osborn Correctional Institution in Somers is on lockdown after 105 asymptomatic prisoners tested positive for COVID-19, the Department of Correction announced Friday. The Department of Correction began testing all staff and offenders on May 13, starting at Osborn. After testing 617 prisoners, they’ve received results from 339 tests, 105 of which were positive. Some prisoners opted out of being tested….

More than 250 Department of Correction staff members and more than 330 inmates have contracted COVID-19, according to statistics that the department released. As of 2 p.m. on Thursday, 256 staff members and 338 inmates had the virus and one inmate had died. The department said 140 COVID-19 positive inmates were housed in the isolation unit at Northern Correctional Institution….

The committee tasked with figuring out how Connecticut can reopen said they expect the plan to involve multiple steps, not a grand reopening all at once.

The second Connecticut Department of Correction inmate, a 24-year-old man at Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center in Uncasville, has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus and the facility has been placed on lockdown. Officials from the state Department of Correction said the man began showing symptoms on Thursday, March 26, and was removed and isolated from the rest of the facility’s population….