CT People’s Survival Programs: Coalition to Close Osborn Correctional Institution to Hold Rally

Opinion by CT People’s Survival Programs

On Saturday, August 8 at 12:00 PM, the coalition Close Osborn Correctional Institution will hold a rally outside Osborn Correctional Institution (OCI), located in Somers, Connecticut, to demand the closure of the medium-security prison. Speakers will share statements from men currently incarcerated at OCI and highlight the ongoing health, safety, and human rights concerns impacting people who live and work inside the facility.

Regarding Osborn Correctional Institution, Correction Ombudsman Devaugh Ward stated in July 2026 after visiting OCI during a heat wave:

I have long said, and I’ll continue to say, that [Osborn] is a facility beyond its useful life. That’s as a whole, not just with respect to the air conditioning.

Recent Findings Confirm Ongoing Unsafe Conditions

In the summer of 2025, the Department of Correction’s Office of the Ombudsman conducted announced and unannounced visits to several Connecticut prisons, including OCI. An October 2025 report documented numerous unsafe and substandard conditions at the facility.

The report concluded:

CT DOC faces a substantial risk of violating the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments’ prohibitions on cruel and unusual punishment if these deficiencies are not promptly and effectively addressed.

Despite these findings and the appointment of a new ombudsman, many of the conditions documented last summer remain unresolved.

A History of Health and Safety Failures

Osborn Correctional Institution has a long history of unsafe conditions and institutional neglect.

In 2019, people incarcerated at OCI filed a lawsuit against the state after drinking water at the facility was reported to be contaminated by sewage, potentially connected to a broken sewage pipe. During that time, therapy dogs at OCI were provided bottled water. In 2024, another lawsuit brought by OCI residents alleged health impacts related to contaminated water and PCB exposure.

In March 2026, OCI was placed on lockdown after a water main break left residents without access to water or bathrooms. Bottled water and portable bathrooms were provided, and the lockdown was lifted the following day.

OCI houses approximately 1,900 men, including a high-security mental health unit. A review of decades of news reports reveals disturbing accounts of missing incarcerated people later found murdered, inadequate psychiatric care for people with serious mental health needs, and numerous suicides, including among men experiencing acute psychosis.

Over several decades, multiple lawsuits have been filed regarding conditions at OCI, including contaminated drinking water, overcrowded and inhumane living conditions, abuse and mistreatment by staff, and inadequate medical and psychiatric care.

Environmental Contamination Impacting the Surrounding Community

Osborn Correctional Institution has also caused environmental harm and placed surrounding communities at risk through contamination linked to the facility.

Tetrachloroethylene, a toxic laundry solvent used at the prison, was released from approximately 1960 to 1984 and was later detected in groundwater at levels reaching 3,900 parts per billion, far exceeding the safe limit of 5 parts per billion. Chlorobenzene, another toxic solvent associated with paint use, was also found at elevated levels in groundwater on prison property.

As a result of the contamination, dozens of local wells became unusable. In 1994, the state invested $1.8 million to provide a drinking water system for affected residents and committed to remediating the contaminated aquifer. A federal study completed in 1996 found that local residents had been exposed to toxins for nearly two decades. By 2000, as OCI planned an expansion, contamination of the aquifer remained unresolved.

What We Are Calling For

The Close Osborn Correctional Institution coalition is calling on the Governor, Department of Correction, and Connecticut General Assembly to:

• Develop and implement a concrete plan to close Osborn Correctional Institution.
• Address the urgent health and safety concerns facing people incarcerated at OCI and the workers who staff the facility.
• Invest in humane alternatives that protect public safety while recognizing the dignity and humanity of all people impacted by Connecticut’s criminal legal system.

A Call to Close Osborn Correctional Institution

Many of the men incarcerated at OCI are aging and could safely return to their families and communities with appropriate support. Continuing to invest in a failing and harmful facility does not create safer communities.

The coalition to Close Osborn Correctional Institution is composed of organizations committed to justice, human rights, legal advocacy, and environmental protection, led by CT People’s Survival Programs.

Our organizations have witnessed the harm caused by OCI and demand that the state shut down Osborn Correctional Institution and invest in safer, more humane alternatives.