HARTFORD, CT--The Connecticut Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal lawsuit against the state Department of Corrections (DOC) for terminating the visitation rights of a prisoner's wife and infant son. 

The CCLU's lawsuit alleges violations of the constitutional rights of due process and familial relationship. 

""It is extremely important for families to have the opportunity to maintain contact while a loved one is incarcerated,"" said CCLU attorney Toya Alek Graham. 

Graham said research has shown that visitation between inmates and their families alleviates some of the stress associated with transition into community life and reduces the recidivism rate. 

According to the CCLU complaint, the couple and their son had previously been permitted to visit on at least five occasions. Those visits were uneventful and did not pose any risk to anyone at the institution. 

But after several visits with her husband, Theresa Troisi received notification from DOC that her visitation rights had been revoked based on the prior violation of a protective order she had obtained against her husband before he went to jail. Officials told Ms. Troisi that they barred the visits because they considered her to be her husband's ""victim."" 

Consequently, the denial of Mrs. Troisi's visitation rights resulted in the denial of the right of the couple's infant son to visit and bond with his father. 

Even after a Superior Court judge ruled that visits would not violate Mr. Troisi's sentence, corrections officials continued to deny the family the right to visit. The family then contacted the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union, resulting in today's lawsuit.