March 14, 2022

Inmate, former prisoner file lawsuit over Conn.’s prison debt law - WTNH.com

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — A current inmate and a former prisoner are suing Gov. Ned Lamont and Attorney General William Tong over Connecticut’s prison debt law, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation of Connecticut announced Monday.

Under Connecticut’s prison debt law, the state charges people $249 a day, or $90,885 a year, for the cost of their incarceration, the ACLU said.

Lawyers representing inmate, Michael Llorens, and former prisoner, Teresa Beatty, filed the class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court Monday, citing the excessive fines clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The ACLU said the lawsuit was filed “on behalf of all people owing prison debt to Connecticut by virtue of having been incarcerated by the state on or after October 1, 1997, including all people who are currently incarcerated in Connecticut prisons and jails.” That’s approximately 30,000 people, according to the lawsuit.

Tong’s office issued the following statement to News 8 regarding the lawsuit:

“We are reviewing the lawsuit and cannot comment on the specific claims. State statutes currently require the state to recover the cost of incarceration, and these liens typically originate directly from DAS. The Office of the Attorney General becomes involved in certain contested cases, but has had no involvement in the specific cases involving Ms. Beatty or Mr. Llorens. There is a proposal before the legislature currently to repeal the cost of incarceration statute.”

The governor’s office declined to comment.

Read the lawsuit below:

source: https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/inmate-former-prisoner-file-lawsuit-over-conn-s-prison-debt-law/

Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.

About

Inmate, former prisoner file lawsuit over Conn.’s prison debt law - WTNH.com