Senate Leadership
September 6, 2007
Senate President Williams Seeks New State Parole Board
Calls for professional board membership and modifications to critical parole procedures
Senate President Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn) and Senator Thomas P. Gaffey (D-Meriden) today called for the replacement of the members of the state Board of Pardons and Parole and for the appointment of a new, full-time, professional Board. They also proposed specific changes to the way the Board reviews and manages some of its parole options.
The recommendations of Sen. Williams and Sen. Gaffey come after a review of certain pardons and parole procedures and nearly seven weeks after the tragedy of the Petit family in Cheshire, in which two former inmates on parole kidnapped, raped and murdered Mrs. Petit and her two daughters and severely beat Mr. Petit.
Sen. Williams and Sen. Gaffey are specifically calling for:
- The replacement of all sitting Board of Pardons and Parole members and the appointment of a new, full-time professional Board with expertise in criminal justice, mental health or other criminal justice-relevant experience. "I think the days of a part-time Board are over" Sen. Williams said. "The more we learn about Connecticut's parole system, the more it becomes evident that we need a higher level of expertise to adjudicate these cases. Starting with a clean slate of new members who all have criminal justice experience will improve the system and increase public confidence in the process."
- Providing Board of Parole members with inmate files at least one week before their administrative review, thereby allowing the board to thoroughly examine an inmate's history and ask pertinent questions. "There's no reason why members should be handed files as they enter a hearing room. Every inmate's history and recommended disposition should be thoroughly examined well before the day comes to render a decision," Sen. Williams said.
- Reviewing the standards by which inmates are granted early release furloughs, and toughening the monitoring standards for such furloughs. "Early release furloughs should be considered a privilege, not a right," Sen. Williams said. "And those who qualify should be subject to the same kind of monitoring and reporting requirements as those on probation."
The recommendations come as the Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hear Tuesday, September 11 from national experts on sentencing and parole, and less than a week after Gov. Rell appointed the members of her Sentencing and Parole Review Task Force.
"The harsh truth is that if the state Board of Pardons and Parole had followed the letter of existing state law and considered all available information about the accused Cheshire murderers, there's reason to believe at least one of them--who a judge characterized as 'predatory' -might not have been on the street in the first place, especially without an electronic monitor," Sen. Gaffey said. "These recommended upgrades in procedure for an entirely new board will alleviate exposed flaws in our corrections and parole procedures and help allay many fears of state residents made raw by July's brutality."
State Victim Advocate James F. Papillo agrees.
"Adoption of these recommendations will serve to place victim and public safety first in the complex equation of meting out justice, which is what the citizens of our state demand and expect from our criminal justice professionals," Papillo said.
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Summary of Recommendations
Board of Pardons and Parole
The Board of Pardons and Parole should be replaced with a full time, professional Board.
Problem: Board of Parole members have not received offender files in advance of administrative parole hearings on a regular basis. This fundamentally undermines the basic duty of the board--to carefully consider whether to let an offender out of prison and back into the community before the end of the offender's sentence--and undermines public safety.
- Recommendation: All files must be provided to Board of Parole members at least one week before the respective cases are heard at a hearing, and board members must be responsible for carefully reviewing each file prior to such hearing.
Problem: Board of Parole members are not required to have any background or skills in the area of criminal justice. Deciding whether certain offenders deserve parole and would succeed in the community is a tremendous responsibility that impacts directly on the safety of our communities--board members should bring to this process as much experience in evaluating offenders and criminal behavior as possible.
- Recommendation: All Board of Parole members must have direct experience in either working with, managing or investigating offenders, or a specific background in criminology (the study of crime and criminal behavior).
Early Release Furloughs
Problem: Offenders on early release furloughs have less supervision and oversight in the first 30 days out of prison than they receive under probation, which begins after the 30-day furlough period. This is a critical period of re-entry into the community, when the need for oversight may be greatest.
- Recommendation: Any offender whose sentence includes probation must have at minimum the same supervision and oversight required by the terms of probation during the 30-day early release furlough.
Problem: The Department of Corrections has pressured wardens to release as many offenders under this program as possible to reduce the prison population, and offenders who have committed serious and violent crimes are often granted early release furloughs. Using the early release furlough program simply to reduce the prison population may reward offenders who do not deserve such a furlough, and could endanger public safety.
- Recommendation: Early release furloughs should be granted only to those offenders who have earned it though a demonstration of good behavior and low security risk, and should never be granted merely to reduce prison population. It should not be available to offenders who committed violent crimes.
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