In recent months, many progressive organizations have come together to mobilize against the statewide ban on parole in Connecticut, recently instituted by Gov. Jodi Rell.
On Nov. 26, 100 people gathered outside the Whalley Avenue Jail in New Haven, Conn. to protest the parole ban. Sponsoring organizations of the rally included People Against Injustice, Youth Rights Media, Unidad Latina En Accion and ANSWER Connecticut (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism).
The groups also held a demonstration in Waterbury, Conn. in front of the Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles on Dec. 17. More protests are planned for Jan. 4 in New Haven and in Bridgeport on Jan. 9.
Since the parole was eliminated in September 2007, the state prison population has swelled by more than 1,000, bringing the total number of inmates to nearly 20,000. The state legislature is considering further measures that institute a “three strikes” law and build two new prisons at a cost of $260 million.
The parole ban was instituted after a triple homicide in the affluent suburb of Cheshire by two white parolees. But as many speakers at the recent protests have pointed out, the effects of the parole ban fall disproportionally on African Americans and Latinos, who make up 75 percent of inmates in the state prison system.
Despite cold and rainy winter weather, the demonstrators continue to come out to protest the parole ban. Speakers at the demonstrations have told of family and friends that were supposed to released on parole before the ban or were even called back to prison after being paroled. Signs at the protests have included “Books not bars” and “Schools not jails.”
At the Nov. 26 New Haven protest, speakers also told firsthand of the inhuman conditions in the Whalley Jail and in other Connecticut prisons. Inmates often are given only one set of clothing and sleep on soiled mattresses in crowded common areas including gyms, cafeterias and waiting rooms. Days go by without heat and inmates lack proper medical treatment.
