Gov.-elect plans to follow Malloy’s lead

Gov.-elect Ned Lamont opened his campaign for governor in January without a deep appreciation of the criminal justice reforms undertaken by the administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

On Tuesday, he promised to take office next month with the ambition of improving on Malloy’s record.

“For me, criminal justice reform is so important. It’s the right thing to do, and it’s the smart thing to do,” Lamont said, addressing a criminal-justice policy group co-chaired by Cathy Malloy, a reform activist. Turning to the first lady, Lamont said, “This is something we’re going to continue to do in a serious way.”

Fifteen policy groups organized by his transition team began making their policy recommendations Monday, with five reports released every day for three days. The criminal-justice presentation Tuesday is only one of three Lamont intends to accept personally.

“We have these policy teams, and it’s incredibly hard work that people are putting in and it’s not going to go to waste,” said Lamont. “This is one I really wanted to go to.”

Criminal-justice advocates were generally pleased by Lamont’s stands during the campaign, while urban Democrats faulted him for not giving them greater emphasis.

On Tuesday, Lamont called mass incarceration “a terrible experiment” and pledged his commitment to policies intended to save people from criminal records where possible and offer rehabilitation aimed to reducing recidivism for those who go to prison.

“I came here because I learned a lot over the last year in terms of the fact that Connecticut’s been a real leader on these reform efforts,” Lamont said. “I’ve seen firsthand what a difference is made in a lot of people’s lives, especially young people — made a terrible mistake when they were younger, and they serve their time. And they shouldn’t be punished for life. So it’s the right thing to do and the smart thing to do.”

They recommend Lamont introduce several criminal justice reform bills at the start of the 2019 legislative session, several pursuing reforms attempted by Malloy. They favor the legalization of marijuana and, among other proposal, wiping clean the records of persons with simple possession convictions.