ACLU of Connecticut Calls for Video Release in Wrongful Death Trial of Prisoners

Staff reporter

Maia Nehme, contributing photographer

To March 25, 2018J’Allen Jones died after being forcibly restrained by several correctional officers at Garner Correctional Institution. Six and a half years later, lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut are fighting to have the video of Jones’ death released to the public.

Shortly after Jones’ death, his family filed a lawsuit against correctional officers and a nurse who were near Jones when he became unresponsive. The defendants submitted the video footage to the court in March this year to prevent the case from going to trial. Jones’ family at the time requested that the video be published to make it available to the public this month – a condition of the defendant not expressly prohibited.

The ACLU of CT, which is not involved in the lawsuit, also requested that the video be released, but was denied by the Supreme Court on the grounds that the video was sealed. In response, the ACLU of CT filed a motion with the Court of Appeals on October 7 to release the video.

“Because it is the only evidence of what happened to Mr. Jones at the hands of the Department of Corrections and because it is a court record that has never been sealed, the public should have access to the video as required by state law and.” guarantee the First Amendment. “ACLU of Connecticut Legal Director Dan Barrett said in a Press release. “It is imperative that people know what is being done in our name behind prison walls.”

During a hearing on Thursday, Barrett and Assistant Attorney General Terrence O’Neill – who represents the defendants in the suit – each had 10 minutes to present their case to the appeals court. Barrett and O’Neill also answered common questions from appeals judges Nina Elgo, Robert Clark and Dawne Westbrook.

Barrett emphasized the difference between a protective order issued for the video and a sealing order. Although protective orders are used to manage the dissemination of sensitive legal documents, they do not prohibit all public access to those documents.

O’Neill argued that the question of whether the video should be sealed should be sent back to the Supreme Court. He also expressed confusion over how the Supreme Court had secured a CD of the video, saying that he and his fellow lawyers had collected both CD copies that they had brought before the court.

“With all due respect, we have no idea how it got there, your honor,” O’Neill said. “We don’t know where this third CD came from.”

The judges then adjourned the session and scheduled the next session for Tuesday, October 29.

Requests to release a video are sparking renewed community backlash over Jones’ death

Calls from the ACLU of CT and Jones’ family to release the video have raised awareness and outrage in the community over Jones’ death.

On the day of his death, Jones, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, was scheduled to be transferred to the prison’s psychiatric ward for treatment. Garner Correctional Institution is the DOC designated mental health facility.

After Jones refused to comply with a strip search, several correctional officers pepper sprayed him in the face, beat him and forced him onto a bed over a period of almost half an hour. Corrections officers and a nearby nurse did not perform CPR or call 9-1-1 for seven minutes after Jones fell unconscious.

The State Office of the Chief Medical Examiner classified Jones’ death a homicide.

Ashley McCarthy, the DOC’s director of external affairs, declined the News’ request for comment on Jones’ family’s lawsuit, noting that the DOC does not comment on matters of active litigation.

On Oct. 18, more than 20 people gathered outside the DOC headquarters in Wethersfield, Connecticut, to demand the release of the video and a more transparent criminal justice system.

Stop Solitary CT, a group that advocates for improved conditions and the end of solitary confinement in prisons, organized the Justice for J’Allen protest. Other attendees included members of Black Lives Matter 860 and the New Britain Racial Justice Coalition, as well as Rep. Anne Hughes.

Barbara Fair, a community organizer with Stop Solitary CT, later told the News that Jones’ death underscores the importance of stopping strip searches in prisons.

“They serve no purpose other than to humiliate, degrade and dehumanize people simply because they do it [DOC staff] “I have the power to do this,” Fair said.

The DOCs Strip Search Policy states that these searches are always necessary in certain situations, such as when a person is admitted to a prison for the first time. Staff can also conduct strip searches if they have “reasonable suspicion” that a detained person is hiding contraband, such as drugs or weapons.

“We care about the health and well-being of every individual in our facilities,” McCarthy wrote to the News when asked about the DOC’s use of strip searches.

McCarthy also noted that the DOC submitted a proposal to the state legislature earlier this year to use body scanners in prisons, which would reduce the need for strip searches. If the DOC were given money for body scanners, she said, the agency would install the scanners in all prisons.

The lawsuit is scheduled to be heard on February 20, 2025.