By Lisa Backus
Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
HARTFORD, Conn. — The state Department of Correction is seeing “recurring failures” affecting conditions of confinement, including unsanitary conditions, repeated lockdowns used to deal with staff shortages, and delayed medical care, according to a report issued by the corrections ombudsman Tuesday.
According to state DOC Ombudsman DeVaughn Ward, he observed and received “consistent” reports of unsanitary and degrading living conditions that included “mold-contaminated ventilation systems, rodent infestations, sewage odors and backups, broken showers, inadequate ventilation, and prolonged denial of hygiene supplies and shower access — conditions frequently exacerbated by extreme heat.”
During the period under examination from September 2024 to December 2025 , Ward reviewed records, made observations during facility tours and communicated with DOC officials to craft the report.
In the same timeframe, the DOC was hit with several wrongful death lawsuits based on claims of substandard medical care, and came under fire from legislators after a woman seeking to sue the state over sexual assaults by prison guards was moved out of state and a report from a federally mandated watchdog group concluded that sexual misconduct by correctional officers was rampant at the state’s only prison for women.
Last week, state Inspector General Eliot Prescott issued a report that concluded a contractor working for the DOC on the prison’s methadone program had caused the overdose death of two inmates at Garner Correctional Facility in July 2024. The DOC has refused to comment on what remedial steps it has taken to prevent future deaths in the program.
As part of the conditions of confinement report, there also were consistent complaints about spoiled food and failures to accommodate documented medical and dietary needs, which often overlapped with sanitation failures, Ward said.
“These deficiencies directly threaten health and dignity. They also affect correctional staff, who work prolonged shifts in environments that pose significant occupational health and safety risks,” he said.
But the largest area of complaints was in mental health and medical services, where Ward said inmates were experiencing delays in diagnosis and treatment.
“This report reflects what the Office of the Correction Ombuds consistently observed and documented across facilities over more than a year — recurring breakdowns in basic services that directly affect the health, safety, and dignity of incarcerated individuals,” Ward said in a statement. “These findings are based on complaints, site visits, records, and engagement with department leadership and staff.”
Ward said the conditions also affect staff who work “within these same environments under significant operational strain.”
The office of Gov. Ned Lamont acknowledged that under the leadership of Commissioner Angel Quiros the DOC has made some advances, but said Tuesday that the findings in the report and a legislative hearing Friday where the prison head was questioned for hours on a variety of problems related to the state’s prison system indicates that more needs to be done.
“Under current DOC leadership, the Department has strengthened oversight of administrative leave, improved training compliance and documentation, and made measurable progress in areas like reporting, asset management, and medication administration,” said Rob Blanchard , director of communications for Lamont. “That progress matters. However, the recent audit and legislative hearing also make clear that DOC faces long-standing, structural challenges. Repeated findings across multiple audits show this is about whether our systems are built to succeed, not any one person. For the safety of our correctional officers, those in our custody, and Connecticut taxpayers, DOC must do better.”
Blanchard said Lamont’s administration will work with the agency, the legislature and independent oversight partners to strengthen internal controls, clarify accountability, modernize systems and ensure clear performance metrics to make the state’s prison system fair and safe.
In a statement issued Monday, Quiros said some of the allegations outlined in Ward’s report were “unsupported” and that the implication that the agency has disregarded any of the concerns raised “is simply untrue.”
” The Department of Correction strongly objects to [the] grossly overstated and unsupported generalization,” that the correctional system is operating in a state of “sustained institutional failure,” the statement said.
Quiros said he would have a formal response to Ward’s report by Feb. 20 . He also said that there always is room for improvement for a system that houses 11,000 individuals.
“The purpose of this report is transparency and accountability,” Ward said. “It is not about blame, but about identifying systemic failures and what must change to ensure humane conditions of confinement for residents and more sustainable working conditions for staff.”
Ward contends that, since the negative conditions are consistent and across so many facilities, it “underscores the seriousness and pervasiveness of the issues confronting Connecticut’s correctional system.”
—
© 2026 Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.. Visit www.journalinquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
