Connecticut lawmakers face a choice in the 2027 legislative session: whether to repeal or narrow a law that lets the state charge incarcerated people a daily fee and pursue the debt for up to 20 years after release. The debate has sharpened after Billy DeSenti died in 2023 owing $232,733 for room and board during his incarceration; his widow ultimately sold their home as the state pursued payment from his estate.
A Widow's House, Sold to Settle a Prison Bill
Billy DeSenti died in 2023 owing the state $232,733 for his incarceration. The state pursued payment from his estate, and his widow, Tracy DeSenti, ultimately sold their North Branford home to help settle the bill, according to CT Mirror. The outlet reported that Connecticut collected about $21 million in prison debts from 2020 through mid-2026 and sought payment from roughly 500 people annually during that period.
Enacted in 1995, the law permits the state to assess incarcerated people a daily charge and collect the debt for up to 20 years after release, according to CT Mirror. The state can also seek payment from current or former inmates’ inheritances, lottery winnings or certain lawsuit settlements. Connecticut’s daily incarceration cost has reached as much as $347 in recent years, the outlet reported.
Lamont Says Most People Shouldn't Leave Prison Buried in Debt
Lamont has said he will support legislative changes in 2027, while state officials explore administrative steps to ease the burden in the meantime. He has argued that most people should not leave prison facing an impossible incarceration-debt burden, according to the CT Mirror report. The outlet also notes that such debt can jeopardize housing, business-building opportunities and the ability to pass money on to children.
Democratic and Republican legislative leaders said they were unsure whether a full repeal of the law or other changes would be the best approach. House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora said he is open to repealing the law, adding that the current policy may not make financial sense for the state and should be reviewed for fairness and the barriers it creates to reentry, the report states.
Homestead Exemptions and Court Review on the Table
House Speaker Matt Ritter proposed a homestead exemption or some other mechanism to prevent people from losing housing over the debt. Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney said he supports a homestead exemption as well as giving courts more opportunity to intervene in collection, arguing the state should individually establish cases for collecting prison debt rather than automatically applying liens.
Courts could determine whether a person actually has the means to pay, under one option described in the CT Mirror report. House Majority Leader Jason Rojas said creating exceptions for people able to pay incarceration costs without financial destabilization could be complicated. Rep. Stephen Harding said the law will likely be reexamined in the next legislative session.
A Repeal Effort That Already Failed Once
Connecticut lawmakers considered a repeal of the prison debt law back in 2022, but that measure failed to advance out of committee. Rep. Steve Stafstrom wants that 2022 repeal proposal brought back for consideration in the upcoming session, according to the report.
Lawmakers have already carved out some exemptions: Connecticut exempted certain lawsuit-settlement cases from prison debt collection, though that exemption excludes people found guilty of certain murder or sexual assault charges. Da'ee McKnight and Fred Hodges, who work for the group Family ReEntry, have pushed the legislature's judiciary committee for a full repeal of the law, the CT Mirror report notes.
What a Court Ruling and Reentry Data Show
A 2024 U.S. District Court order dismissed the plaintiffs’ facial and as-applied challenges to Connecticut’s pay-to-stay law under the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause. The court allowed two plaintiffs’ claims to proceed only on allegations that the state sought to enforce amounts above what the law permits; it did not decide whether those alleged overcharges occurred, according to the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut order. Separately, the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management’s Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division reported that 50% of the 2022 release cohort returned to the Department of Correction within three years of release or discharge. That measure provides reentry context but does not show that prison debt causes people to return, according to the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management.
Connecticut's pay-to-stay statute has been revised several times over the past decade and has been challenged in federal court, according to the outlet's reporting. With Lamont and leaders from both parties now publicly signaling appetite for change, the fight in 2027 will likely center on whether lawmakers scrap the law entirely or simply soften its reach.
