State prisons commissioner Brian Murphy called Wednesday for passage of a comprehensive bill that is designed to increase the safety of prison guards and improve operations in the prisons.
The state is calling for stricter penalties against inmates who assault prison guards with bodily fluids, which is known as “fluid throws” at the prisons.
“We definitely want it as a greater deterrent,” Murphy told lawmakers at the state Capitol complex. “My staff should not be subjected … to an assault. …. I strongly feel this will be a deterrent.”
The “fluid throws” have been made by the prisoners through the years, and the correction officers currently take medication after the “fluid throws” in order to combat any potential diseases that they may be exposed to.
The bill is also seeking to change the state’s Freedom of Information laws to exempt “any records that pose a risk,” including drawings or aerial pictures of the prisons that inmates are seeking to receive. Also, guards currently are not allowed to bring cell phones and camera phones into the prisons without prior authorization because they are known there as “contraband.” The bill is targeted at inmates because prisoners who have access to private lines of communication can “intimidate their victims,” Murphy said.
“An inmate with a cellphone is a serious threat,” he said.
“These issues are very important,” said Sen. John Kissel, an Enfield Republican who has six prisons and more than 8,000 inmates in his district.
Public safety commissioner John Danaher spoke in favor of a bill that would restore eligibility to possess a gun for anyone who had been voluntarily or involuntarily committed to an institution for mental health problems in the past. The federal government will remove grant money from the state until the program is implemented, Danaher said.
“In some elements of society, there is prejudice against some who seek mental health treatment,” Danaher told lawmakers.
Those seeking a gun would have to prove in a probate court that their mental disability no longer exists, and the court proceeding must be recorded, he said.
The 1993 Brady bill reaffirmed the federal law on the issue, officials said. DMHAS, which is concerned about protecting confidential, psychiatric information, supports the bill.