Analysis Cites Expense Of Prison Expansion
By MARK PAZNIOKAS Courant Staff Writer
September 11, 2007
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A "three strikes" law proposed for habitual offenders in the wake of the Cheshire triple slayings could increase the inmate population by 1,000 a year and require a new $110 million prison, nonpartisan legislative analysts say.The legislature's Office of Fiscal Analysis describes the law, which would require mandatory life sentences for some three-time felons, as the most expensive proposal floated since the brutal home invasion in July.New mandatory life sentences, tighter standards for parole and other proposals all come with a cost, said Rep. Michael P. Lawlor, D-East Haven, who requested the fiscal analyses of a half-dozen proposals.
"If the legislature does certain things, it will result in increases in the prison population," said Lawlor, co-chairman of the judiciary committee. "If that is what's going to happen, I feel very strongly you have to put the resources in place or the system will melt down."Ending parole and transitional supervision would exceed current prison capacity and also require new prison space, the Office of Fiscal Analysis said. The state's 17,000-bed prison system now has 19,000 prisoners.OFA also placed a price tag on the more modest proposition of tracking every parolee with global positioning technology. For every 30 parolees tracked by GPS, the annual cost is $212,000.The analyses are nonpartisan, but a political tension underlies their preparation as Lawlor generally opposes mandatory sentences and new prison construction, while the most strenuous calls for tougher measures have come from legislative Republicans.Republicans last week called for a "strong three strikes law that eliminates judicial discretion and requires life imprisonment for a third serious felony conviction, keeping career criminals in jail and out of our neighborhoods." Previously, they had called for an examination of parole standards.Joshua Komisarjevsky, 26, and Steven Hayes, 44, were free on parole when they were arrested fleeing the home of Dr. William Petit Jr. of Cheshire. Authorities say they beat Petit and killed his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and their daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela.House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, said cost will be a part of any discussion about legislation enacted in response to the Cheshire case, but he complained that Lawlor seemed to be building a case against tougher sentences."What's the first thing you do, develop the public policy?" Cafero said. "Or get a report on the cost and say, `I dare you?'"Cafero said the cost estimates assumed that Connecticut would adopt a three-strike law similar to the one in California, where any third felony can trigger a life sentence. He said Republicans are considering requiring that a serious felony be the trigger, which could send fewer offenders to prison.Lawlor said the California law defines a life sentence as 25 years in prison, while Connecticut Republicans are talking about a three-strikes law with a penalty of life without possibility of parole.Lawlor said he hopes the legislature will focus on providing court and prison officials with the tools to "find the needle in the haystack" - identifying dangerous offenders such as Komisarjevsky before they are eligible for parole."You need to find the Komisarjevskys of the world," Lawlor said. "Some are a complete mystery. Some have some indicators."Lawlor said he believes that Komisarjevsky never would have been released had parole officials reviewed a transcript of his sentencing, which discussed the defendant's mental health and his dangerous predilection for breaking into occupied homes.But parole officials never saw the transcript before releasing Komisarjevsky, despite the passage of a law in 1997 requiring prosecutors to provide transcripts before parole hearings.Democrats and Republicans agree that no parole hearing should be conducted without the parole board having the transcript and other relevant information.One of the fiscal analyses recently provided to Lawlor says that the transcripts could be provided in all cases for $45,000 a year.Contact Mark Pazniokas at
mpazniokas@courant.com
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Thursday, September 6, 2007
NY Times Opposes Three-Strikes Laws
By Jeralyn, Section Crime Policy Posted on Tue Sep 04, 2007 at 01:28:00 AM EST Tags: (all tags)
Unwisely yet predictably, Connecticut legislators are considering enacting a three-strikes law in response to a gruesome multiple murder last month by two inmates with lengthy records.
The New York Times has an editorial today in opposition.
The appeal of a “three strikes and you’re out” law is understandable, but these laws have proven to be blunt instruments that cause more injustice than they prevent. In California, which has a particularly draconian law, a man who shoplifted $153.54 worth of videotapes was sent to jail for 50 years. These laws are not only overly harsh. They are enormously expensive, because of all of the prison cells that are needed to warehouse minor criminals who pose little threat to society, many of whom are elderly by the end of their sentence.
....adopting a one-size-fits-all sentencing system makes no more sense than releasing criminals without adequate information.
So many of our worst and most draconian laws stem from reaction to a single crime. As I've written repeatedly,
More...
Legislation should never be passed out of grief and passion or in response to a singular event, no matter how horrific. Cooler heads are needed when our fundamental liberties are at stake.
.... One size fits all justice doesn’t work, particularly when it involves non-flexible penalties for everyone, regardless of the individual circumstances of the offense and the character and history of the offender.
It's time to get smart on crime and the first step is leaving the failures of the "tough on crime" crowd behind us.
Unwisely yet predictably, Connecticut legislators are considering enacting a three-strikes law in response to a gruesome multiple murder last month by two inmates with lengthy records.
The New York Times has an editorial today in opposition.
The appeal of a “three strikes and you’re out” law is understandable, but these laws have proven to be blunt instruments that cause more injustice than they prevent. In California, which has a particularly draconian law, a man who shoplifted $153.54 worth of videotapes was sent to jail for 50 years. These laws are not only overly harsh. They are enormously expensive, because of all of the prison cells that are needed to warehouse minor criminals who pose little threat to society, many of whom are elderly by the end of their sentence.
....adopting a one-size-fits-all sentencing system makes no more sense than releasing criminals without adequate information.
So many of our worst and most draconian laws stem from reaction to a single crime. As I've written repeatedly,
More...
Legislation should never be passed out of grief and passion or in response to a singular event, no matter how horrific. Cooler heads are needed when our fundamental liberties are at stake.
.... One size fits all justice doesn’t work, particularly when it involves non-flexible penalties for everyone, regardless of the individual circumstances of the offense and the character and history of the offender.
It's time to get smart on crime and the first step is leaving the failures of the "tough on crime" crowd behind us.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Conn. lawmakers call for tougher penalties in wake of Cheshire tragedy
by News Channel 8's Annie RourkePosted July 31, 2007Updated 10:15 PM
(Hartford-WTNH) _ Governor Jodi Rell is among the state lawmakers calling for reforms following the deadly Cheshire home invasion.
The gruesome crime, allegedly by suspects already in the system, has sparked thousands of Connecticut residents to sign an online petition favoring the so-called 3-strikes law.
Connecticut lawmakers are responding to the tragedy, and to their constituents concerns, debating if harsher punishments are needed in our state since both suspects had long, criminal records.
"I know we give judges a lot of leeway into decide how long a sentence ought to be but maybe we need to look at more standards," said Governor Rell.
Forty-four year old Stephen Hayes and 26-year-old Joshua Komisarjevsky were out on parole, but their prior convictions were for burglary and other non-violent offenses, so they didn't qualify for Connecticut's three strikes you're out law. Rell is now asking lawmakers to change that by classifying home invasions and night-time burglaries as violent crimes so offenders would serve 85-percent of their sentences.
Republican Senators are taking it farther, saying they want a tougher three strikes law, one that carries a mandatory 25 to life prison sentence. Their opponents tell News Channel 8 that adding more laws won't fix what's broken with the system.
"He could've been charged under our repeat offender laws and he wasn't and why that happened, we have to figure out," said State Representative Mike Lawlor.
Lawlor says there were red flags for both Hayes and Komisarjevsky, but information was lost between the police, prosecutors and the parole board. And he says, mandatory sentencing causes other problems. There are currently 19,000 convicts in Connecticut and our capacity is for just 17,000.
"Trust me when I tell you a lack of bed space in prison should not be a reason for letting a hardened criminal out," said Rell.
That seems to be a popular sentiment. About 5,000 people have signed an on-line petition for a tougher three-strikes law in just a few days. Lawlor says, he wants to work with the governor to find the loopholes, but look at all the options, including what we can afford.
"At the end of the day, we need to find a system that will actually work, not one that just sounds good in a press conference," said Lawlor.
Lawmakers are hoping to vote on a tougher 3-strikes law by the end of the summer.
(Hartford-WTNH) _ Governor Jodi Rell is among the state lawmakers calling for reforms following the deadly Cheshire home invasion.
The gruesome crime, allegedly by suspects already in the system, has sparked thousands of Connecticut residents to sign an online petition favoring the so-called 3-strikes law.
Connecticut lawmakers are responding to the tragedy, and to their constituents concerns, debating if harsher punishments are needed in our state since both suspects had long, criminal records.
"I know we give judges a lot of leeway into decide how long a sentence ought to be but maybe we need to look at more standards," said Governor Rell.
Forty-four year old Stephen Hayes and 26-year-old Joshua Komisarjevsky were out on parole, but their prior convictions were for burglary and other non-violent offenses, so they didn't qualify for Connecticut's three strikes you're out law. Rell is now asking lawmakers to change that by classifying home invasions and night-time burglaries as violent crimes so offenders would serve 85-percent of their sentences.
Republican Senators are taking it farther, saying they want a tougher three strikes law, one that carries a mandatory 25 to life prison sentence. Their opponents tell News Channel 8 that adding more laws won't fix what's broken with the system.
"He could've been charged under our repeat offender laws and he wasn't and why that happened, we have to figure out," said State Representative Mike Lawlor.
Lawlor says there were red flags for both Hayes and Komisarjevsky, but information was lost between the police, prosecutors and the parole board. And he says, mandatory sentencing causes other problems. There are currently 19,000 convicts in Connecticut and our capacity is for just 17,000.
"Trust me when I tell you a lack of bed space in prison should not be a reason for letting a hardened criminal out," said Rell.
That seems to be a popular sentiment. About 5,000 people have signed an on-line petition for a tougher three-strikes law in just a few days. Lawlor says, he wants to work with the governor to find the loopholes, but look at all the options, including what we can afford.
"At the end of the day, we need to find a system that will actually work, not one that just sounds good in a press conference," said Lawlor.
Lawmakers are hoping to vote on a tougher 3-strikes law by the end of the summer.
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