‘Problem’ Inmates From Garner Shipped To Virginia

By Andrew Gorosko

The state Department of Correction (DOC) has moved 60 of the state’s “most problematic” high-security prisoners from Garner Correctional Institution on Nunnawauk Road to a state prison in Virginia as part of a DOC plan to better manage its incarcerated felons.

As of Tuesday morning, TransCor America, Inc had moved the prisoners via road from Garner to Wallen’s Ridge State Correctional Facility, a comparable prison in Big Stone Gap, Va, said DOC spokeswoman Captain Heather Ziemba. TransCor also transported 20 inmates from Northern Correctional Institution in Somers to Virginia, she said.

Ms Ziemba declined to reveal the names of the prisoners transferred to Virginia and the type of vehicles in which they were transported. The prisoners who were transferred are affiliated with gangs, pose high security risks, and are violent offenders, she said. “It happened without incident, in a safe, secure way,” she said.

Garner is a high-security prison designed for more than 700 inmates that opened in November, 1992. It has become the state’s prime prison for housing violent prisoners with gang affiliations. Garner’s “close custody” inmate handling program has become a national model for how to manage persistently violent inmates.

The DOC plans to transfer up to 500 inmates to Virginia to thin out the number of prisoners in state facilities to improve prison staff safety and public safety, Ms Ziemba said. “Virginia has the room,” she said, noting that that state has a surplus of prison beds, and Connecticut faces an increasing prisoner population.

“These transfers occurred successfully without incident. We are pleased with the cooperative efforts of Virginia and their level of professionalism, as their policies, procedures and standards closely reflect ours,” DOC Commissioner John Armstrong said in a statement.

Mr Ziemba said it is probable that more Garner inmates will be among the up to 420 inmates yet to be transferred to Virginia.

“The [Virginia] setup is very similar to ours. They have the same level of security,” she said. Connecticut has a prisoner contract with Virginia for one year, she said, adding the term of the pact might be extended.

As of Tuesday, Connecticut had 17,448 inmates in its prisons, 665 of which were being held at Garner, Ms Ziemba said.

An international human rights organization, Human Rights Watch, has criticized the Virginia state prison system for alleged instances of inmate abuse, pointing to alleged cases of prisoner abuse at Wallen’s Ridge, where the Connecticut inmates are being sent.

 In response to those allegations, Ms Ziemba said, “Our agency has done extensive research” on the Virginia prisons, adding, “The allegations are just allegations. The allegations are unfounded.” The Connecticut DOC is “very comfortable” sending its inmates to Virginia after having researched its prison system, she said.

“The [prisoner] population is high right now,” she said, adding that transporting prisoners out of state is one of the ways DOC is dealing with the situation.

 “The inmate population entering our correctional facilities continues to rise and this immediate decision  [to transfer prisoners] is a population management tool that will provide flexibility in managing our incarcerated population… The transfer is in the best interest of our agency priorities, including staff and public safety and facility security,” said Mr Armstrong.