State Senator Thomas P. Gaffey
January 1, 2008
Criminal Justice Reforms Proposed
A column from the Meriden Record-Journal by Senator Thomas Gaffey
The traumatized gaze of concerned Connecticut residents turned almost immediately from the horror of last summer’s Cheshire murders to state leaders, to remedy the flawed criminal justice system that seems to have contributed to that crime. Last September I stood alongside Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams, Jr. to outline a series of proposed improvements to the state’s protocol regarding prisoners and parole.
Much of the framework for reform we mapped out that day has by now been refined and seems ready for imminent enactment, with conceptual support already in place from the governor and Republicans in the legislature. Our initiative includes reclassification of some crimes, revision of some sentencing guidelines, and an overhaul of the policies and procedures governing the release of Connecticut prisoners.
Among the reforms on which we have virtual consensus, we’re prepared to modify certain criminal justice statutes, as recommended by both law enforcement experts and the Connecticut Supreme Court. These stronger laws would change the status of home invasions, classify them as violent crimes, and intensify the sentence for conviction. We hope this will also serve as a deterrent. We will also revisit the state’s existing ‘three strikes’ statute to try and make it more workable for prosecutors.
Chief among our ideas for those already incarcerated is creation of an entirely new, full-time, professional Board of Pardons and Parole with the wherewithal to fulfill its weighty task. We propose to add to its staff and include a forensic psychologist and victim advocates, and close loopholes that have prevented adequate review of prisoners under consideration for parole or furlough.
By definition, a professional board will prosecute its charge in a thorough, businesslike fashion, and systematically review what’s gleaned with its complete access to all pertinent information on each case; a professional board will be expansive enough to handle its case load and flexible enough to pursue each case on an individual basis. We are intent on establishing direct, electronic and video links between each prison and the board’s home office to make that happen.
We are convinced victim notification is important when a prisoner is under consideration for parole or furlough, both as a courtesy and also so victims can weigh in on the process. In terms of prisoner re-entry itself, there is building consensus that we need greater reliance upon Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology to monitor the whereabouts of parolees as well as vigorous enforcement of parole provisions and re-arrest for probation violations.
There is also a need to expand existing re-entry programs tailored to specific conditions of offenders. These include mental health treatment facilities, residential substance abuse programs, and secure facilities for known sex offenders who are about to be furloughed or paroled.
To be sure, criminal behavior is antisocial behavior, intensified by any number of internal and external factors. Managing criminal behavior has at least as many challenging facets. For instance, any refined ‘three strikes’ law would have to seriously take into account the plea bargain process and the need to revise it. History also teaches us to maintain a measure of judicial discretion in sentencing. However, judicial discretion must be exercised with all due care to meet the primary obligation to protect the public safety.
We are resolute about making these changes and determined to find the political support and financial means necessary. We are confident that many of the structural changes outlined above can be made to the Board of Pardons and Parole and to the appropriate criminal statutes later this month. Other changes, like expanded prison facilities, additional probation and parole officers, and expanded mental health and addiction treatment facilities, will require adjustments to the state budget, so we’ll have to address them after the regular legislative session begins February 6th.
Last summer’s ghastly home invasion in Cheshire exposed fundamental flaws in our criminal justice system; we’ve made significant progress in the meanwhile to address those flaws and we are now prepared to act on necessary policy remedies.
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