Online: @katalcenter #FreeThemNowCT #COVIDBehindBars
Easter Sunday: Family Members of Incarcerated People & Community Groups to Gather at Gov. Lamont’s Mansion, Call for Action in Face of COVID-19 Crisis
With Virus Spreading in CT Prisons and Jails, Lamont Must Release Incarcerated People to Save Lives
Families and Community Members to Share Stories From Incarcerated Loved Ones
Hartford, CT – On Easter Sunday, April 12th at 4:00 pm, families of incarcerated individuals and community groups will gather outside Governor Lamont’s for a speak out – sharing the words of people incarcerated in CT prisons and jails, and calling on Governor Lamont to immediately release of people from Connecticut jails and prisons due to COVID-19. While congregations can’t gather now in their houses of worship due to COVID-19, family members are joining together for an in-car protest at the Governor’s mansion. The press is invited to attend and hear stories from CT constituents who are being forgotten and left behind by Governor Lamont amidst the worst health crisis in the state’s history.
WHAT: Press conference outside Governor Lamont’s mansion with directly impacted constituents and community groups
WHEN: Sunday April 12th, 2020 | 4-5PM
WHERE: Governor’s Mansion – 990 Prospect Ave West Hartford, CT 06117
WHO: Family-members of those Currently Incarcerated, Constituents, Community Groups, faith leaders; the Katal Center for Health, Equity, and Justice; Stop Solitary CT; One Standard of Justice; Second Chance Educational Alliance; and more.
As the pandemic spreads in Connecticut, Governor Lamont has refused to take the necessary preventive measures to help flatten the curve of COVID-19 within the Connecticut Department of Corrections. Last Monday, nearly 100 people — families of incarcerated individuals and community groups — held an in-car protest outside Governor Lamont’s home with a caravan of more than 50 cars to demand Lamont immediately release people from Connecticut jails and prisons. In response, the Governor told the constituents to “call me” but sent them to a phone line that didn’t work. Groups then demanded a meeting with the Governor, which was scheduled for last Thursday, but was then cancelled by Lamont’s team and rescheduled for Monday 4/13 – making families wait again. Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 cases in Connecticut prisons and jails increases every single day for both incarcerated people and correctional staff. Lamont’s delays mean people in jails and prisons remain in danger, and families have to go through many more delays — now in a period of holy days significant to Christian and Jewish people — knowing their loved ones are in harms’ way, ignored by the state’s Governor.
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