Barrett says the debt builds fast enough to reach astronomical numbers
Legal director, ACLU of Connecticut
“It builds so quickly that you can reach astronomical numbers within a comparatively short amount of time”
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
CT Mirror investigation into Connecticut's cost-of-incarceration collection law, published September 27, 2026. Based on a review of hundreds of probate-court cases filed from 2020 to 2026 and interviews with more than a dozen affected people, state officials, legislators and advocates. Anchors this case's account of the practice's scale, mechanics and the on-record positions of DAS, the Attorney General's office and named advocates and affected individuals.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
CT Mirror's investigation found Connecticut's daily per diem is more than double the federal government's rate.
After the quotation
Barrett separately said the state's practice amounts to trying to collect money from people who have very little left after prison.
How this statement is classified
Case context: Should Connecticut collect per diem incarceration fees from former inmates' settlements and windfalls?
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
Barrett directly criticizes the size and pace of the debt as unreasonably high, rejecting the fairness of its effect on people who owe it.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Connecticut Department of Correction, Connecticut Department of Administrative Services
Should Connecticut collect per diem incarceration fees from former inmates' settlements and windfalls?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
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