Bill passes, giving chance at parole to offenders under 21

Some people incarcerated for offenses committed before age 21 will be newly eligible for parole under a bill passed by both houses of Connecticut’s legislature.

Proponents say the bill, which now heads to Gov. Ned Lamont for final approval, reflects research showing that brain development continues into a person’s 20s and that people who commit crimes at young ages are highly capable of growth and rehabilitation.

The legislation would grant a chance at parole to people who committed offenses before age 21 on or before Oct. 5, 2005 and were sentenced to at least 10 years in prison. Under current law, that opportunity is available to those whose offenses came before age 18.

Separately, the bill tweaks the law regarding when driving under the influence convictions can be expunged. Those convictions will now be eligible to be erased only after 10 years (as opposed to after seven currently) and only as long as the person in question is not convicted of another DUI in that time.

Following a series of amendments narrowing the bill, the House passed a final version of the proposal by a 100-48 vote late Monday night, with most Democrats in support and many Republicans in opposition. The

“There was an attempt to conform our laws to the notion that the brain doesn’t develop until 25.”

State Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven

Senate took up the bill Tuesday evening and passed it 30-6, with only a handful of Republicans voting against it.

Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, who co-chairs the legislature’s Judiciary Committee, said the parole proposal originated in part from a series of U.S. Supreme Court cases finding that harsh sentences for young people fail to account for the fact their brains are not fully developed.

“There was an attempt to conform our laws to the notion that the brain doesn’t develop until 25,” Winfield said. “There was a discussion about the fact that that was probably a step too far for some folks, so we settled on 21.”

Sen. Stephen Harding, RBrookfield, was one of the six Republicans who opposed the bill Tuesday, arguing it undermines initial sentences passed down by judges.

“I have some reservations about expanding that incredible power that the Board of Pardons and Paroles has, which is overriding judges’ decisions,” Harding said.

In its initial version, the bill would have granted a chance at parole to anyone serving a long sentence whose offense came before age 25. It passed the Senate last month after being amended to lower the age to 21, then passed the House after an amendment established a cutoff date of Oct. 5 2005.

Proponents of the amendment argued that it should apply specifically to people who were sentenced during a previous era, when Connecticut’s justice system was more punitive.

The Senate ultimately passed the House’s version Tuesday, sending the bill to Lamont, who has not indicated whether he plans to sign it.