Mental Health Issues Compound Connecticut Overcrowding Problem

HARTFORD, Conn. — More than 20 percent of the 19,000 state prisoners in Connecticut suffer from moderate to severe mental illness, according to a recently released legislative report.

The study, conducted by the Office of Legislative Research, comes as the state’s prison population continues to grow beyond its maximum design capacity of about 17,000 beds.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell recently ended the parole of all violent offenders following the arrest of two parolees who were allegedly involved with a triple-murder. The governor has informed lawmakers that she has no plans to authorize the building of any new prison facilities.

However, the correctional officers union and advocates for the mentally ill say that the state could achieve significant cuts in its prison population and solve the overcrowding crisis by diverting mentally ill offenders to a separate facility dedicated to providing the specialized environment and care necessary.

The state began closing all state-run psychiatric institutions during the 1980s, which resulted in the incarceration of many of the state’s mentally. The state’s most severely mentally ill inmates are housed at Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown.