A judge has ruled Vermont’s practice of sending only male inmates to out-of-state prisons is unconstitutional.
The case involved Vermont inmate Michael Carpenter, incarcerated for three years, who was sent to a Kentucky prison despite having twin 5-year-old sons and a fiancée, reported the Brattleboro Reformer.
SANCTION
“The court cannot sanction (the Department of Correction’s) policy of sending male inmates far from home, regardless of whether they have close bonds with their young children, while keeping all women nearby,” Judge Helen Toor wrote.
While in Vermont, Carpenter played weekly with his children, court documents show. His family could not afford to travel to Kentucky, and Vermont provided no funds for families to visit prisoners in other states.
POLICY
DOC reported it has no policy to send men only inmates to out-of-state prisons, and it does not question prisoners about whether they have minor children before transferring inmates.
Vermont sends about 500 of its 2,000 prisoners to private prisons in Kentucky and Arizona, court documents show.
Suzi Wizowaty, executive director of the group Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform, said the only remedy is to reduce inmate population.