PRESS ADVISORY: Stop Solitary CT Calls for Veto Override, Cheshire CI at 1 pm
Stop Solitary Admin
Media Advisory
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Date: Friday, July 2nd, 2021 1:00 p.m. (EST)
Location: Cheshire Correctional Institution, 900 Highland Ave, Cheshire, CT 06410
Press contact: Leighton Johnson, 475-331-1329, in...@stopsolitaryct.org
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Stop Solitary CT Rallies Outside of Cheshire CI for Veto Override, End to Extended Lockdowns
Cheshire, CT – On July 2, Stop Solitary CT will hold an action outside of Cheshire Correctional Institution calling for an override of Governor Lamont’s veto of the PROTECT Act (S.B. 1059).
S.B. 1059, which was passed by the General Assembly with bipartisan support, would have protected incarcerated people by limiting solitary confinement, ending abusive restraints practices, ensuring access to visitation, and implementing oversight of the Connecticut Department of Correction (DOC). Governor Lamont’s Executive Order, a temporary measure that could be withdrawn at any time by the governor or a future administration, replaces the PROTECT Act with superficial reforms that ultimately endorse the DOC’s status quo. Stop Solitary has released a statement on the veto that is provided alongside this advisory.
The action at Cheshire also responds to reports of an extended lockdown at Cheshire Correctional Institution. Members of Stop Solitary CT have been informed by incarcerated people and their families that correctional officers’ calling out of work in protest of S.B. 1059’s passage has resulted in a multi-day lockdown, in effect retaliating against incarcerated people for the passage of a bill intended to protect their human rights.
At the action, Stop Solitary CT will demand that the legislature call a special session to override Governor Lamont’s veto of S.B. 1059 and condemn retaliatory lockdowns. The event will last from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm.
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