DeVaughn Ward, Connecticut's corrections ombudsman, announced on Tuesday that he will resign from the position on October 16, departing nearly two and a half years before the end of his term, to join a personal injury law firm. Ward was appointed in September 2024 as the state's first ombudsman overseeing the correctional system since the office closed in 2010 due to budget cuts.
Connecticut's Prison Watchdog Plans Early Exit to Join Law Firm
DeVaughn Ward, Connecticut's corrections ombudsman, announced on Tuesday that he will resign from the position on October 16, departing nearly two and a half years before the end of his term, to join a personal injury law firm. Ward was appointed in September 2024 as the state's first ombudsman overseeing the correctional system since the office closed in 2010 due to budget cuts.
Ward said the timing of his departure was determined by the needs of the law firm he will join. He stated in a phone interview that he hoped the announcement would accelerate the selection of his successor. The next ombudsman will serve a four-year term under a law the state legislature passed last year extending the appointment length.
When Ward took office, the Office of the Correction Ombudsman had an annual budget of $400,000 and operated with only Ward as staff. Ward advocated for increased funding, and the office's annual budget has since tripled to exceed $1.2 million. The office now employs four staff members and is projected to expand to ten or eleven by the end of 2026.
Ward attributed his main accomplishments to obtaining increased funding and bolstering the office's statutory authority. He secured what he described as necessary statutory tools including subpoena power, the ability to conduct unannounced prison inspections, and the capacity to use electronic devices to document conditions. A March report from his office prompted the Connecticut legislature to eliminate medical copayments for incarcerated people and spurred the Department of Correction to plan healthcare reforms.
Before his appointment, Ward worked as a criminal law and personal injury attorney and litigated cases against Connecticut's Department of Correction. He secured settlements in lawsuits alleging inadequate medical care in state prisons, including a class-action lawsuit brought by incarcerated residents denied treatment for Hepatitis C. The selection process leading to Ward's permanent appointment had been protracted. After the law reestablishing the ombudsman's office passed in 2022, the Correction Advisory Committee posted the job application in June 2023 and later narrowed the pool to three finalists. The committee recommended civil rights attorney Ken Krayeske in January 2024, but Gov. Ned Lamont instead appointed third-place finalist public defender Hilary Carpenter. Carpenter's appointment faced significant backlash and the legislature never confirmed her. Lamont and lawmakers then agreed the governor would collaborate with the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus to appoint an interim ombudsman that summer. The Correction Advisory Committee reopened the hiring process in September. Lamont announced Ward as interim ombudsman in August 2024, and the legislature confirmed him as permanent ombudsman in April 2025.
- The source does not state the name of the law firm Ward will join.
- The source does not provide details on when the position will be posted or the timeline for hiring a successor.
- The source does not state specific details about what complaints or investigations the office has handled during Ward's tenure beyond the healthcare copayment issue.
Read the original at CT Mirror