ABBY ANDERSON
” alt=”” />
The first incarcerated person to die of COVID-19 passed away two weeks ago.
Carlos DeLeon had been cleared for release and suffered from an underlying medical condition which made him more susceptible to complications — yet he remained incarcerated for lack of an “appropriate home sponsor.” So he stayed in prison. He got sick. He died.
I find it unacceptable that in normal times, we would choose to continue incarcerating individuals simply because they do not have access to the resources needed to successfully re-enter their communities, instead of working with them to ensure they have those supports. I find it even more outrageous that in these extraordinary times, in these life-or-death situations, our systems would fail to implement the necessary measures to protect individuals like Mr. DeLeon.
My organization, the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance, works to protect the rights, futures, and well-being of potentially, currently, and formerly incarcerated youth. As youth advocates, you might wonder why Mr. DeLeon’s needless death hits us so hard? It’s not simply because there are incarcerated children in Connecticut who could be the next Mr. DeLeon. Or because we believe no person should remain locked up and die from a preventable situation. This hits especially hard because of the horrifying precedent it sets: it says we will not do all we can to ensure incarcerated people stay alive.
As I write this, there are still 46 children held in confinement by the Judicial Branch and about 45 children incarcerated in adult prison under the supervision of the Department of Correction. There are children sitting in jail cells because they have been exposed to the virus, have to be in quarantine, or because they don’t have a safe home to return to. There are children in cells because we don’t have the will — or in some cases, the way — to create individualized supervision and services plans to support them in their communities. We’ve fought against Connecticut’s increasingly out-of-step policy of incarcerating children in adult prison (Manson Youth Institution (MYI) and York Correctional Institution), which has been proven in study after study to be bad for youth and public safety outcomes. We’ve fought against policies looking to jail youth who are “a risk to themselves” or “have no safe home” because we believe we owe suicidal and abused youth better than a jail cell. We have been fighting against these unacceptable realities of our justice system for years.
The children incarcerated through the Judicial Branch and the Department of Correction have almost uniformly experienced tragedy and trauma in their lives. Many have been in and out of the child protection system, carry significant mental health diagnoses, or face serious developmental or medical issues. Does that mean they shouldn’t be held accountable when they do wrong? Of course not. But it does mean there are underlying reasons for their choices that must be addressed. Cages don’t address those underlying problems and they don’t work to achieve rehabilitation or repair harm.
We cannot forget that, as a result of systemic racism and structural inequities in place for generations, the majority of youth currently detained in Connecticut are black and Hispanic. Data analyzed by the state shows that system reforms have helped white youth much more than they have helped black and Hispanic youth and has shown that black youth are more likely to be transferred to the adult court than their white peers. Leaving these youth in confinement during COVID-19 once again ignores and perpetuates racial injustices.
We, along with our advocacy colleagues, have repeatedly heard the misconception that calling for the mass release of incarcerated individuals implies a thoughtless, haphazard unlocking of all cell doors, with no support or supervision of those who walk out. In reality, public health experts and advocates like us have called for the thoughtful examination of the incarcerated population to find people exactly like Mr. DeLeon, and to create individualized plans to get them back to their communities.
For over a month we’ve been advocating for the thoughtful and strategic release of youth in detention and incarceration facilities. Honestly, we’ve been advocating for that very thing for years. There are other ways to hold youth accountable and to ensure they understand and can work to repair any harm they may have caused that are more humane and effective than a prison cell. That’s true every day, not only during a global pandemic when keeping children in cells signals to them that we don’t care about their well-being. To be safely released, many youth will require individualized plans to ensure they are safely housed, their medical and mental health needs are met, and that they have access to necessary education and recreation. In other words, they’ll need support.
Since the onset of this pandemic, the number of youth held in juvenile detention centers or secure confinement run by the Judicial Branch has decreased by about 45%. That’s an important step, and more needs to be done. The Judicial Branch should be making use of existing technologies to further decrease the number of confined youth. For example, other states have probation officers regularly checking in with clients through video chat. Connecticut’s probation officers don’t have smartphones to use. Without the ability to regularly speak with clients, the role of probation is severely limited. More options for tech-enabled community support and supervision could mean fewer kids locked up. Seven youth have tested positive in Hartford’s juvenile detention facility, leading to various levels of isolation or quarantine and severely restricting kids’ out-of-cell time. Even though this isn’t designed as punishment, spending the vast majority of your day in your room is not healthy. We know that kind of isolation can quickly break down the mental health of adults. These are children.
We appreciate that the Judicial Branch is responding to this extraordinary situation like the life-or-death crisis it is. The Department of Correction is not doing the same. The number of incarcerated youth under 18 in adult prison has barely changed since this crisis started. The department has been very clear and public about the fact that they are not now, and do not plan to start, working to create thoughtful plans to release youth to their homes or other safer environments. School and most other programming for these youth has stopped and COVID-19 is being contracted at alarming rates by everyone in the prisons — staff and those incarcerated. Conditions of confinement for the 15- to 17-year-olds in MYI were under federal investigation before they were undermined by a global pandemic, and yet DOC will not speed up the release process for even those youth within 30 days of their original release date.
Support authentic, locally owned and operated public service journalism!
This is why we need strong, urgent leadership at the highest level. We need the governor to issue an executive order. Transferring youth out of Judicial Branch and Department of Correction incarceration will require interagency cooperation, creative use of funding, support of community re-entry programs, and the commitment to moving with an urgency that reflects the actual life-and-death situation incarcerated youth are facing.
In so many other areas, the governor has shown the willingness to pull out all the stops, changing the “normal” way of doing things to ensure people have what they need to be safe and healthy. So then why can’t our government do that for incarcerated children? Or rather, why won’t they?
My heart hurts for Mr. DeLeon and his family. My heart is broken by the fact that there are going to be more needless deaths like this in the days to come. But my biggest fear is that the next preventable death could be that of a child.
Abby Anderson is the executive director of the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance
DISCLAIMER: The views, opinions, positions, or strategies expressed by the author are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of CTNewsJunkie.com.
More COVID-19 Coverage

Ousted Public Health Commissioner Renée Coleman-Mitchell details her federal discrimination lawsuit
Former State Department of Public Health Commissioner Renée Coleman-Mitchell is on WNPR discussing her federal lawsuit against the state.
Keep reading
Connecticut To Get FEMA Funds for COVID Testing Sites
Connecticut will receive more than $2 million in federal emergency funding to pay for the operation of COVID-19 testing sites during a six-month period last year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Monday. The roughly $2.15 million will come from FEMA’s public assistance grant program and will be used to reimburse state funds used to…
Keep reading
COVID Transmission Increases in CT
As of Friday afternoon, Connecticut’s test positivity rate was 13.71% and there were 323 residents hospitalized with the virus. On Thursday, the Department of Public Health reported that 158 of Connecticut’s 169 municipalities qualified for the state’s “red alert” distinction for COVID-19, which is triggered when a community records at least 15 daily cases per…
Keep reading
Connecticut At High, Medium Risk of COVID Transmission
Connecticut’s COVID-19 test positivity rating was 10.35% on Thursday and all eight Connecticut counties were in the medium yellow or high orange categories on the CDC’s community spread map. Those community maps, created by the CDC in February, are supposed to tell people to take preventative steps such as masking and testing. Hartford, Middlesex and…
Keep reading
Advocates Make 11th Hour Pitch For Compassionate Release
Hartford, CT — Advocates seeking compassionate release from prison during public health emergencies like COVID rallied at the state Capitol hours before they saw their legislation die without action in either chamber. At the rally on Wednesday, protestors and advocates were demanding action from legislators to pass a bill that addresses COVID in prisons. The…
Keep reading
Legislating During COVID-19
The legislative session ends in three days now, that’s shorter than the amount of time someone should quarantine under CDC standards if they have COVID-19, so how are lawmakers coping? Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, started experiencing symptoms two weeks ago and tested positive for COVID-19. Luckily the session wasn’t scheduled until last Tuesday, but…
Keep reading
Study Shows Union Nursing Homes Had Lower Rates of COVID-19
A recent study published by Health Affairs found that unionized nursing homes had lower resident COVID-19 mortality rates. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing home residents have accounted for roughly one of every six COVID-19 deaths in the United States. Nursing homes have also been very dangerous places for workers, with more than…
Keep reading
Senator Murphy Tests Positive For COVID
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy announced on Twitter that he tested positive for COVID-19. “FYI after feeling mild symptoms overnight, I tested positive for COVID this morning. We’ve done the contact tracing and let people know. It’s a bummer, but I’m sure if I wasn’t fully vaccinated I would be feeling a lot worse. So remember…
Keep reading
COVID Cases Tick Back Up
Most of Gov. Ned Lamont’s executive orders, which were extended to April 15 by the legislature, have now expired just as Connecticut’s test positivity rate for COVID-19 is creeping back up and students at UConn are being asked to mask up again, starting today. According to the Department of Public Health, Connecticut recorded 3,939 positive…
Keep reading
House Green Lights Extension of COVID-19 Laws
The House gave final passage Wednesday to a package of four concepts that had been executive orders and are now law. Previously, the concepts were executive orders to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keep reading
Tong Tests Positive For COVID-19
Attorney General William Tong has tested positive for COVID-19. He is experiencing mild symptoms and quarantining at home.
Keep reading
Lieutenant Gov. Tests Positive For COVID-19, Days After Gov
Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz tested positive for the COVID-19 virus during a routine rapid test over the weekend, her chief staff said in a Monday morning statement. Bysiewicz’s results follow Gov. Ned Lamont, who tested positive late last week. “I have tested positive for COVID-19,” Bysiewicz wrote on Twitter. “Thanks to the vaccine and booster…
Keep reading
Lamont Tests Positive for COVID-19
Gov. Ned Lamont tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday. The results from two rapid tests were positive and he’s awaiting the results of a PCR test, according to this staff. The 68-year-old governor received his second booster exactly a week ago, but has made it through the first two years of the pandemic without contracting the…
Keep reading
New Initiative Allows Same Day COVID Testing And Treatment
Hundreds of pharmacies and federally qualified community health centers across Connecticut are now offering COVID testing and treatments to patients at the same time and place. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, these test-to-treat sites provide antiviral medication to hundreds of locations across the U.S, who then distribute them to patients…
Keep reading
YNHH Top Doc Boosts 2nd Boosters
If you’re eligible to get a second Covid-19 booster shot, go get it. Especially if you’re over 50 and have an underlying medical condition like diabetes that puts you at “high risk” of contracting a severe case of COVID. Read more from the New Haven Independent.
Keep reading