Racial disparities persist in CT prisons, even as the population dropped
More than 42 percent of people in Connecticut’s prison system are Black, a ratio that has stayed consistent despite a significant decrease in the number of people behind bars over the last decade.
“There’s no question that our criminal justice policies and our criminal justice practices have a significantly disparate impact on people of color,” said Mike Lawlor, an associate professor of criminal justice at the University of New Haven. “It is the case that you’re way more likely to end up in prison if you’re a person of color than if you’re white.”
A CT Insider analysis of the demographics of Connecticut’s prison population showed that the vast majority of prisoners in the state are minorities, despite a steep drop in the number of prisoners.
