Connecticut defense attorneys joined with the American Civil Liberties Union on Friday to file a lawsuit seeking an emergency court order to release prisoners vulnerable to serious illness and those who are being held on low bond, eligible for home confinement or within six months of the end of their sentence.

Also Friday, three unions that represent more than 6,000 front-line employees in the state prisons are calling for the issuance of personal protective equipment, or PPE, particularly masks, and to further limit access to the facilities to key staff members.  

The Department of Correction, which has been working to reduce the prison population, is reporting that as of 2 p.m. Thursday, 16 staff members and eight inmates at its 14 facilities have tested positive for COVID-19. Locally, that includes one staff member and three inmates at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center in Uncasville and two staff members at the Janet S. York Correctional Institution in East Lyme.

"People who are incarcerated in Connecticut are in imminent danger from COVID-19," said attorney Dan Barrett, the ACLU of Connecticut's legal director. "The longer Connecticut fails to act to protect them, the closer our state comes to a deadly and unconstitutional disaster. Connecticut's courts did not sentence people to suffer and potentially die from a pandemic."

The Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association said the case should be considered a priority matter by the state Judicial Branch, which has consolidated courthouses, reduced hours of operation and limited business to all but the most pressing matters.

The lawsuit names DOC Commissioner Rollin Cook and Gov. Ned Lamont as defendants.

"The administration is reviewing the lawsuit and will not comment on pending litigation at this time, Max Reiss, Lamont's director of communication, said in a prepared statement. "All measures taken during this public health emergency have been to maximize public health outcomes wherever possible, especially inside our correctional institutions in the interests of both staff and incarcerated individuals."

DOC has implemented an operational response plan restricting outside access to the facilities and reducing group activities. Staff are undergoing medical checks, including having their temperature taken before entering. Cleaning and disinfecting are ongoing, according to the DOC, and newly admitted prisoners are being isolated for 14 days. Also, the DOC said meals are being served within housing units and only one housing unit at a time is allowed to go to the gym for recreation.

But both the ACLU and the unions complain that the policies are not consistent from prison to prison and are not stringent enough to protect staff and inmates.

"We are already seeing the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the DOC," said Rebecca Simonsen, lead organizer for SEIU District 1199, which represents 600 front-line health care personnel in the prison system, including doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, social workers and others. "The consequences of an inadequate response to the outbreak will be devastating for workers, people who are incarcerated, and our communities. Union members in DOC are united in demanding the administration take decisive action by marshaling every possible resource to protect the safety of all workers, inmates, and our communities across the state."

The Day has been speaking with family members of prisoners, as well as those concerned that correction officers and other front-line staff are working in unsafe conditions.

Correction staff say a policy that allows up to 50 inmates to partake in recreational activities together and includes wiping down exercise equipment between use does not comply with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation for social distancing and should be curtailed.

Family members say inmates have reported being isolated without being told why and that some who have underlying health conditions have not received the proper medical care.

"They still have rights, and they have a right to know what's going on," said Brooke Barnes of Montville, whose boyfriend is incarcerated at Corrigan-Radgowski.

Commissioner Cook has said the DOC is working to reduce the prison population while ensuring inmates have a safe place to live upon their release.

As of Thursday, there were 3,241 people in pretrial detention, and 8,580 sentenced prisoners, according to the ACLU lawsuit, which also says the prison population contains disproportionate numbers of black and Latino people.

k.florin@theday.com