WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) issued the following statement regarding the Bureau of Prison’s (BOP) plans to convert the Danbury Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) from a women’s prison to a men’s prison and his plans to meet with BOP officials:

I support today’s rally in New Haven aimed at raising awareness about the need to stop the transfer of female inmates from Danbury FCI. Despite the detailed response I received from the Bureau of Prisons, I remain deeply concerned about what the move will mean for inmates and their children in the Northeastern United States. Converting the facility from a women’s prison to a men’s prison means that there will no longer be any federal prison beds for women in the region. Moving these inmates may reduce or eliminate contact between female inmates and their families, dramatically disrupting their lives and ability to successfully reintegrate into society once released from prison.

I have been promised a meeting with the BOP in the coming weeks before they transfer a single inmate out of Danbury FCI after the government shutdown, so I will again press our case in person then.

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