Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell on Friday banned parole for all Connecticut inmates serving prison time for violent crimes, in response to another serious offense allegedly committed by a state parolee.
New York City police shot and wounded James Biggs, 45, in the Bronx early Friday when they say he threatened them with a kitchen knife. Police say the car he was in was taken in a carjacking in Hartford on Thursday. Biggs was paroled less than a month ago.
Rell's announcement also came two months after two convicted burglars on parole were charged in a violent home invasion in Cheshire that left a woman and her two daughters dead.
The governor also directed the state Board of Pardons and Paroles to immediately review all current parolees who were sentenced for violent crimes. She said any of those convicts who are in violation of their paroles, no matter how minor the offense, will be returned to prison to serve out the remainder of their sentences.
Some state lawmakers agreed with Rell's decision, but said the move will cause a major population increase in an already crowded Connecticut prison system. Legislators said millions of dollars will have to be spent on new jail space and other measures.
Rell said the parole ban will be in effect until the state reforms its parole process.
``No more. Security comes first,'' Rell said in a prepared statement late Friday afternoon. ``I will not allow public safety to be jeopardized because parolees return to a life of crime.''
All criminals convicted of violent offenses in the state are already required to serve 85 percent of their sentences. The parole ban would boost the percentage to 100.
State lawmakers and other officials have been discussing parole reforms since the Cheshire killings in July.
The legislature's Judiciary Committee, which held a hearing on sentencing and parole reforms last week, is considering several proposals, including building new prisons, enacting a true ``three strikes and you're out'' law, classifying home invasion as a violent crime to increase prison sentences and expanding monitoring of parolees.
Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven and co-chairman of the committee, said he agreed with Rell's ban because of a series of incidents involving parolees, including the Cheshire killings.
Lawlor also said he expects the legislature to convene a special session before next year's regular session. Majority Democrats at a special session on Thursday defeated a Republican proposal to expand the agenda to include bills related to the Cheshire home invasion.
``This is truly an emergency that we're going to have to deal with,'' Lawlor said Friday.
Democratic leaders said the reforms should not be rushed into but undertaken deliberately with purpose.
The day before the Cheshire killings, there were 18,864 inmates in the state prison system, which is designed to handle 17,000, Lawlor said. There are more than 19,100 inmates today, he said.
Lawlor expected the state prison population to increase another 1,500 within the next year because of the parole ban. He said it would take about five years to open a new prison.
Posted by: kttref
Where did you get that article, if you don't mind me asking? I'm doing a seminar paper about the Three Strikes rule, specifically for CT..and this has implications in it.
M. Jodi Rell banned parole on Friday for all Connecticut inmates serving prison time for violent offenses following a string of crimes police say were ...
www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297678,00.html - 11 hours ago -
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