Report: Connecticut Locks Up Three Times More Black People Than National Average

A recent report from the Prison Policy Initiative found that Black people make up the majority of Connecticut’s prison population, Edwin J. Viera reports for the Public News Service. Despite making up only 10 percent of the state’s general population, Black people make up 43 percent of the incarcerated population, three times higher than the national average. Wanda Bertram, communications strategist for the Prison Policy Initiative, argued states can make changes in pretrial systems like Connecticut’s move to end cash bail for all but a few misdemeanor offenses and reform probation and parole practices. “There are modest reforms that Connecticut can put in place like simply not jailing people w، commit technical violations of probation and parole, like failing to make a meeting with your parole officer,” Bertram recommended.