Kissel defends requiring repayment of incarceration costs
Connecticut state senator (R-Enfield); co-sponsor of the 1995 law
“The taxpayers footed the bill. They didn’t do anything wrong. And knowing that one has to pay the state back a reasonable sum on a regular basis is not a bad policy”
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Associated Press wire story republished by NBC Connecticut, reported around the time Connecticut's 2022 partial overhaul of the cost-of-incarceration law took effect. Quotes Sen. John Kissel defending the underlying policy, Rep. Steve Stafstrom describing the reform's effect, and affected individuals including Teresa Beatty, Fred Hodges and Da'ee McKnight.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Kissel was responding to Teresa Beatty's case and the 2022 debate over narrowing the law. In the same interview, the Associated Press reported that while Beatty's situation tugs at one's heartstrings, Kissel said, "Everybody has issues." He said he opposed the Democratic-led repeal effort but might support installment-payment reforms.
After the quotation
Kissel did not respond to the CT Mirror's requests for comment for its September 2026 report.
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?
Kissel argues the underlying practice of requiring repayment is justified because taxpayers funded the incarceration and did nothing wrong.
- 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.
More from this case
Read the full case“I still can't wrap my head around losing the thing that I worked for”Read statement
“It hurts people's ability to reintegrate into society when they carry these debts”Read statement
“We're not involved in the policy discussion here”Read statement