State officials have been issuing “discretionary releases” — when an incarcerated person is released from prison or jail to state supervision before the end of their sentence — at a rate not seen in at least a decade, according to an analysis by the CT Mirror. Advocates for the incarcerated insist they can go farther. Groups like the Katal Center for Equity, Health and Justice and the ACLU of Connecticut have clamored for large-scale releases to protect inmates from catching COVID-19 in a correctional facility, where social distancing is virtually impossible and medical care has historically been strained. Their demands underscore a fast-growing urgency: Three incarcerated people have died from COVID-19 since Dec. 17.