| List of cities in Connecticut Bridgeport New Haven Hartford Stamford Waterbury Norwalk Danbury New Britain West Hartford Bristol Meriden West Haven Milford Stratford East Hartford Middletown Shelton Norwich Torrington Trumbull Naugatuck Central Manchester Newington East Haven Wethersfield Westport New London North Haven Darien Ansonia Wallingford Center Willimantic Orange Derby Windsor Locks Storrs Conning Towers-Nautilus Park Groton Bethel Oakville Kensington Thompsonville Southwood Acres Rockville Winsted Ridgefield Glastonbury Center Putnam District New Milford Cheshire Village |
1-888-891-4385
Drug and Prison Reform in Connecticut
The Connecticut prison population has almost doubled during the 1990's. At a cost to Connecticut taxpayers of over $494 million a year, Connecticut prison expenses are increasingly unmanageable. Almost 25 percent of Connecticut state prisoners are drug offenders. Even more startling is the fact that while black men make up less than three percent of the Connecticut population, they account for 47 percent of Connecticut prison inmates.
For all of these reasons, when Republican Governor of Connecticut John Rowland urged the legislature to reform Connecticut mandatory minimums and focus more resources on drug treatment in the Connecticut justice system, legislators quickly responded. Said Democratic Representative Michael Lawlor (of harsh drug laws): "I don't think anyone intended it to be this way, but if you were trying to design a system to incarcerate as many African-American and Latino men as possible, I don't think you could have designed a better system.
The Connecticut prison population has almost doubled during the 1990's. At a cost to Connecticut taxpayers of over $494 million a year, Connecticut prison expenses are increasingly unmanageable. Almost 25 percent of Connecticut state prisoners are drug offenders. Even more startling is the fact that while black men make up less than three percent of the Connecticut population, they account for 47 percent of Connecticut prison inmates.
For all of these reasons, when Republican Governor of Connecticut John Rowland urged the legislature to reform Connecticut mandatory minimums and focus more resources on drug treatment in the Connecticut justice system, legislators quickly responded. Said Democratic Representative Michael Lawlor (of harsh drug laws): "I don't think anyone intended it to be this way, but if you were trying to design a system to incarcerate as many African-American and Latino men as possible, I don't think you could have designed a better system.
