By the the New Britain Racial Justice Coalition
The New Britain Racial Justice Coalition (NBRJC) affirms the findings of the Connecticut Correction Ombuds’ 2025 Conditions of Confinement Report and names the central truth it reveals: mass incarceration itself is the crisis.
The documented conditions—black mold, rodent infestations, sewage backups, extreme heat, spoiled food, prolonged lockdowns, delayed and denied medical care, and retaliation against incarcerated people who speak out—are not isolated breakdowns. They are the predictable outcomes of a system designed to warehouse human beings rather than meet human needs.
No amount of piecemeal reform can make a system built on cages humane. As long as Connecticut continues to rely on incarceration as a response to social harm, poverty, unmet health needs, and lack of housing, these conditions will persist.
Attempts to dismiss this report as exaggerated ignore the consistency of complaints across facilities and years, as well as the lived reality of incarcerated people and their families. The harm documented here is real, ongoing, and entirely preventable.
NBRJC calls on state leaders to take decisive action: commit to reducing Connecticut’s prison population and reinvest public resources into healthcare, housing, reentry, and second chances—especially for individuals whose crimes were committed as young adults or teenagers.
True safety is created through care, stability, and opportunity—not neglect, punishment, and confinement. Ending mass incarceration is not only a moral imperative; it is a public health and community safety necessity. Human dignity does not stop at the prison gate, and our communities cannot thrive while this system continues to actively cause harm.
