Yale Daily News

When DeVaughn Ward was appointed as the state’s temporary prison watchdog in September — the first to assume the role in over a decade — legislators and advocates alike applauded his selection. Four months later, his warm reception has grown tepid, with some advocates skeptical about how much Ward has accomplished in his tenure.

As interim ombudsman, Ward monitors Connecticut’s 13 active correctional facilities, addressing incarcerated people’s concerns and proposing policy revisions to the state Department of Correction. However, he emphasized that getting the brand-new ombudsman office up and running has hindered the time he can spend on the ground with incarcerated people.

“I just think there’s been a ton of unrealistic expectations that whoever got this position was going to walk in on day one and have a fully operating office a week later,” Ward said. “And that’s just, unfortunately, not how government works.”

Barbara Fair, who heads the criminal justice organization Stop Solitary CT, voiced disappointment with Ward’s performance as interim ombudsman. 

A former candidate for the ombudsman role, Fair stressed the importance of prison visits for Ward to familiarize himself with the living conditions of incarcerated people. Though Ward initially promised to visit each prison facility before the legislative session convened on Jan. 8, he said he has visited nine of the facilities so far.

“You’ve been here since September. Why have you not hired anyone yet?” Fair asked, as if addressing Ward directly. “There’s 13 facilities. How many facilities have you visited? And why have you not got to every single one of them?”

Ward attributes advocates’ and community members’ frustrations to misunderstandings over the ombudsman’s abilities.

“I have the ability to subpoena, I have the ability to report to the legislature, but I can’t compel DOC to do anything,” Ward said. “Folks think because I say something, DOC has to do it, and they have to do it in short order. And that’s not the case.”

Limitations of the ombudsman office

Since September, Ward said he has received roughly 250 claims from incarcerated people. As the sole employee in Connecticut’s ombudsman office, he has struggled to respond to this “overwhelming” demand for assistance.

Ward has prioritized addressing situations that endanger the physical safety of prisoners, such as intervening in a 23-day hunger strike at a facility and advocating for incarcerated people to receive proper medical treatment. 

While carrying out on-the-ground work, Ward was discouraged by the limitations of his position in addressing misconduct. He cited the example of a correctional officer at Cheshire Correctional Institution who was accused by multiple incarcerated people of frequently using racial slurs. 

In a conversation with a prison security official, Ward learned that a staff member would need to corroborate the prisoners’ claims for the correctional officer to be held accountable for the alleged misconduct.

“You could have 100 incarcerated individuals saying something about a particular staff member, and it wouldn’t bear any weight,” Ward said. “You would need another staffer to step up and corroborate the claim for it to go anywhere. That was a really disheartening response.”

Ashley McCarthy, director of external affairs for the DOC, declined to comment, noting that the incident Ward referenced is under active investigation by the DOC Security Division.

To tackle more claims, Ward hopes to hire additional staff for the ombudsman office. He noted that hiring staff requires approval from the state Office of Policy and Management and Gov. Ned Lamont’s office. 

Though Ward’s request for two staffers was recently approved, he still has to complete a “slew of paperwork” before hiring anyone. He anticipates that he will have staff in the office by the second quarter of the year.

The search for a permanent ombudsman

Ward’s appointment to the interim ombudsman role in September bookended a fraught search process that had dragged on for months. 

Last February, Lamont disregarded the recommendations of the Correction Advisory Committee, tasked with interviewing and vetting applicants for the position, by nominating the committee’s third — and last — place pick as ombudsman, public defender Hilary Carpenter. Advocates pushed back against Lamont’s initial pick, unconvinced that a state employee could provide independent oversight of the DOC. 

Lawmakers expressed frustration over Lamont overlooking the committee’s first two recommendations: Fair and civil rights attorney Ken Krayeske. Amid these concerns, Lamont agreed to select an interim ombudsman who would be approved by the legislature’s Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, leading to Ward’s nomination a few months later. 

Throughout Ward’s tenure as interim ombudsman, the Correction Advisory Committee has resumed its search for a permanent hire. Tadhg Dooley, co-chair of the committee, noted that some candidates in last year’s applicant pool did not reapply for the position.

“I think an unfortunate byproduct of the governor’s first appointment, and the controversy that surrounded that, may have been a deterrence to some potentially strong candidates the second time around,” Dooley said.

Neither Fair or Krayeske reapplied for the permanent ombudsman position. Krayeske quipped that he has “too much respect for the people in the General Assembly to send them on a fool’s errand a second time,” alluding to Lamont’s decision to nominate Carpenter instead of him, the committee’s top choice.

At a Jan. 8 hearing, the committee unanimously chose Ward as its top recommendation for the position. Ward’s selection still needs to be approved by Lamont and the state legislature.

Ward hopes to secure additional funding for the ombudsman office in the governor’s budget this year. He requested a $1.5 million budget, which would allow him to hire two office assistants, two staff attorneys, two associate ombudsmen, two investigators and a medical consultant. 

Ward pointed to New Jersey’s ombudsman office, which serves a similar-sized prison population to Connecticut and boasts a roughly $2.6 million budget and 21 staff members. 

“It just does not matter who the permanent ombuds is — whether it’s attorney Ward, one of the other finalists, Ken Krayeske or Barbara Fair,” Dooley said. “None of them would be able to succeed in the office if it does not get the funding that it needs from the state.”

Lamont will announce his budget proposal next Wednesday.