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Ashad Hajela
Investigative Reporter, Tow Fellow for Race, Youth & JusticeAshad Hajela is CT Public's Tow Fellow for Race, Youth and Justice with Connecticut Public's Accountability Project. He can be reached at ahajela@ctpublic.org.
He was previously a Report for America corps member at Spotlight PA State College, where he wrote about rural affairs. Prior to that, he covered public safety at The News & Observer in Raleigh, NC.
Ashad was a Stabile Fellow at Columbia Journalism School and attended New York University. He now calls New Haven home.
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Most Connecticut prisons have centralized cooling systems. But that isn't the case at Osborn Correctional Institution, a medium security prison in Somers that houses more than 1,100 people.
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Osborn Correctional Institution, a medium security prison in Somers, lacks a central cooling system outside its medical unit and school area.
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The number of educational staff working in the prison school district sank near its lowest level in the last two decades during the 2022-23 school year, according to a recent annual report.
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Local officials determine whether a child goes to court, or to a diversionary program, presenting opportunities for bias to influence the outcome.
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The programs give kids who face criminal charges mentorship and structure to help them get back on track, and avoid harsher consequences they might face in court.
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Miguel Cardona visited the Middlesex campus of CT State Community College to celebrate the initiative, a partnership between Wesleyan University, the state community college system and the Connecticut Department of Correction.
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Some departments are investing in new testing machines that reduce the time it takes to analyze DNA evidence from weeks to just a couple of hours.
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More police departments in the state are using rapid DNA testing machines, which reduce the time it takes to test evidence.
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Prison reform groups say the move to renovate and reopen the Middletown facility shows a disregard for the lives of incarcerated youth.
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The ombudsman will serve as an independent watchdog for the state correctional system.