Department of Correction

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

The coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on the state prison system. In one facility so far, a third of the inmates tested positive for coronavirus, but were asymptomatic, as the Department of Correction starts widespread testing.  At least 369 staff members, agency-wide, have also tested positive.  The agency said more than 300 of those have returned to work. NBC…

NBC Connecticut Investigates is sharing some results from an exclusive survey.

A 74-year-old man in the Connecticut Department of Correction system has died from complications due to the coronavirus, officials said Tuesday. Officials said the man was a prisoner at Osborn Correctional Institution. He was taken to a hospital for treatment on April 23, and died Tuesday. The man was serving a 13-year sentence for first-degree sexual assault with a victim…

Two Department of Correction prisoners died Monday due to complications from COVID-19, the department confirmed. These mark the fourth and fifth deaths of prisoners in the state system. The first was a 60-year-old man who was receiving treatment at UConn Health Center after testing positive for the virus, officials said. He was taken to the hospital on April 20 and…

Calls have continued for the Connecticut Department of Correction to release lower-risk inmates early because of the threat posed by coronavirus.   On April 12 the agency announced its first inmate death connected to the pandemic. DOC data has shown an exponential increase in confirmed coronavirus cases inside Connecticut prisons. !function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var e in a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var t=document.getElementById(“datawrapper-chart-“+e)||document.querySelector(“iframe[src*=’”+e+”‘]”);t&&(t.style.height=a.data[“datawrapper-height”][e]+”px”)}})}(); It’s one...

Prisoner advocates are raising concerns over the state’s corrections systems preparedness to handle the pandemic.

Forty-five inmates who were being housed at the Northern Correctional Institution have been medically cleared to leave isolation, the Department of Correction announced Tuesday. Four staff members who were diagnosed with COVID-19 have also been cleared to return to work. DOC officials said the 45 offenders were in the medical isolation unit during their recovery and that healthcare staff monitored…

For the first time in the 19 years that Steven Wales has been a correction officer at Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center, he says he is afraid to go home to his family. “My biggest fear is giving it to them,” said Wales, of his two young children. “They did not sign up for this.” Since March 26, 19 inmates and 10…

Inmates who test positive for the coronavirus will be transferred to Northern Correctional Institution.

Five Department of Correction inmates have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus in Enfield.  Officials say all five individuals at the Willard-Cybulski Correctional Institution have been isolated and are receiving medical care from the Agency’s Healthcare staff. The entire facility has been placed on lock down in order to limit the spread of the virus. “As in the community...

A third Department of Correction employee has tested positive for the coronavirus, agency officials confirmed Friday. The employee, who works as custody staff at Hartford Correctional Center, last entered the building. DOC officials said the employee was assigned a hospital detail at Manchester Memorial Hospital on Monday, March 23 and worked second and third shifts. During the third shift on…

A Department of Correction employee who works at the Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown has tested positive for the coronavirus, officials confirmed Monday. DOC said the employee has been self-monitoring at home since Wednesday, March 18 and last entered Garner on Tuesday, March 17. Effective Monday, anyone entering a DOC facility will be screened, including a temperature check. Anyone with…

A resident of a Department of Correction contracted halfway house in New Haven who was admitted to Yale New Haven Hospital Wednesday with flu-like symptoms has tested negative for coronavirus. DOC officials said the staff and other residents who were told to stay at the building while awaiting test results, can return to normal. There are 59 offenders housed at…

Among other steps, the Connecticut Department of Correction has issued visitor restrictions at all of its facilities in response to the growing coronavirus crisis.  DOC officials said Thursday that while they have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in any state prison, they are taking steps to safeguard against the virus. The agency is suspending all social visits starting Friday,...

A woman who worked in the state Department Of Correction is now in trouble with the law herself.  Details of significant embezzlement emerged in paperwork released by state auditors. Sandra Sacco worked at York Correctional Institution For Women up until last November. The Department of Correction dismissed her from state service after it says an investigation proved she falsified...

Two Department of Correction nurses are on leave after an inmate treated for a head wound was taken to a local emergency room and later died. A DOC spokesperson said on Thursday at 12:59 a.m. Osborn Correctional Institute staff responded when the inmate, 36-year-old Jose Peralta, was found lying on his back on the floor of a dormitory area. Peralta…

A Connecticut Department of Correction officer was given a dose of Narcan after finding a bag that had held fentanyl among an inmate’s belongings at a correctional center, according to officials from the department. Officials said it happened while processing a new inmate around 1 p.m. on Dec. 17 at the Hartford Correctional Center. While the correction officers were taking…

Data from the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness shows nearly 50% of people in homeless shelters in Connecticut over the past three years were also incarcerated at some point.

Cyntoia Brown, championed by celebrities as a symbol of unfair sentencing, was released early Wednesday from the Tennessee Prison for Women, where she had been serving a life sentence for killing a man who had picked her up for sex at 16. Kim Kardashian West, Rihanna, Snoop Dogg and LeBron James had lobbied for Brown’s release, calling her a sex...