Teresa Beatty
Role at the time: Formerly incarcerated Stamford resident; lead plaintiff, Beatty v. Lamont
Response to this claim
Connecticut's prison-debt law, under which the state can seize up to half of a settlement, inheritance or other financial windfall for up to 20 years after release, violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on excessive fines.
“I just don’t think it’s right, because I feel I already paid my debt to society. I just don’t think it’s fair for me to be paying twice”
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)Why we used this label
Beatty directly rejects the practice as unfair to her personally, framing it as a second punishment for the same offense.