HARTFORD — A Superior Court judge ordered the Connecticut Department of Correction to release video showing the homicide of J’Allen Jones by staff at Garner Correctional Institution in 2018.
Superior Court Judge Claudia Baio on Thursday ordered that the video footage, which is expected to be used as evidence in a civil lawsuit filed by the family of Jones, be released with limited redactions relevant to the security of the facility and the dignity of Jones.
Jones, a 31-year old Black man diagnosed with schizophrenia, was serving a 10-year sentence for armed robbery at Garner – the state’s mental health correction facility and high-security prison.
He died while being struck, hooded, stripped, placed in full body restraints, pepper sprayed and sedated during his transfer to another cell in the prison by as many as nine staff. Jones was later pronounced dead on March 25, 2018 at Danbury Hospital.
Although the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Jones’ death a homicide, then Danbury State’s Attorney Stephen J. Sedensky III cleared staff of any criminal wrongdoing in the death.
Jones’ fiance and mother later filed a wrongful death suit against the nine correction workers, who are represented by the Office of Attorney General William Tong in the case.
Lawyers with the Office of the Attorney General had sought to seal the video, claiming in an Aug. 22 court hearing that releasing the video would pose a security risk for correction staff. Later they proposed a compromise that would allow limited private viewings of only a portion of the surveillance footage.
The Jones family, supported by a number of prison reform activists, pushed the court to release the footage to the public.
“I want the world to see what happened to my child,” Jessica Jones, J’Allen Jones’ mother, told the court, during the Aug. 22 court hearing.
Civil Rights Attorney Alex Taubes, who represented CT Examiner on a pro bono basis in the case, argued in court for the release of the entire footage, along with Ron Murphy and attorneys for the Jones estate, Correction Ombuds DeVaughn Ward, and the Connecticut chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
In Thursday’s decision, Baio ruled that the Office of Attorney General William Tong failed to meet the burden of proof that security concerns outweigh the public’s right to know.
Baio noted that the defendants’ lawyers had previously used the entire video as evidence in its motion to dismiss the suit.
“It is imperative that members of the public be able to view the exhibit so that they can evaluate the court’s decision on that motion,” Baio wrote in her decision.
“This ruling is a major victory for transparency and a rejection of the DOC’s stance of absolute secrecy,” Taubes told CT Examiner on Thursday night. “We look forward to seeing the released video as soon as possible.”
Baio ordered the Department of Correction to provide redacted footage within two weeks, and an additional two weeks for the family to offer any objections prior to its release to the public.