DOC Commissioner Asked to Testify

Gov. M. Jodi Rell declined Judiciary Committee Co-Chairmen Rep. Michael Lawlor and Sen. Andrew McDonald’s invitation to testify Oct. 1 about how to manage the state’s inmate population following her directive to suspend parole for violent offenders, so they asked Corrections Department Commissioner Theresa Lantz to attend instead.

In their letter to LantzLawlor and McDonald said, “In particular, the committee would like to know whether you anticipate there will be a surge in inmate population. We also want to know what the contingency plans the Governor has to protect corrections staff and host communities in the event there is a population surge beyond what can be safely accommodated in Connecticut’s correctional institutions.”