To prevent a COVID-19 outbreak in the state’s court houses, all jury trials are suspended but courts remain open.
Kelan Lyons
Kelan is a Report For America Corps Member who covers the intersection of mental health and criminal justice for CT Mirror. Before joining CT Mirror, Kelan was a staff writer for City Weekly, an alt weekly in Salt Lake City, Utah, and a courts reporter for The Bryan-College Station Eagle, in Texas. He is originally from Philadelphia.
Posted inJustice
Elderly prison population vulnerable to potential coronavirus outbreak
Advocates are worried about the impact of a COVID-19 outbreak on the state’s elderly prison population.
Posted inJustice
Bill would provide attorneys to young adults in DCF care
Roughly 450 young adults in DCF’s care would receive legal counsel and a bill
Posted inHealth, Justice
Lawmakers consider broadened “Red Flag” law
The proposal would expand who could apply for a risk warrant and prevent people in crisis from buying guns.
Posted inJustice
CT’s use of solitary confinement could amount to torture, UN says
The United Nations noted that Connecticut’s use of solitary confinement is especially extreme and prevalent.
Posted inHealth
Five things to know about coronavirus and what state is doing to prepare
“Connecticut is ready, and we’ve been ready for a while,” Gov. Ned Lamont said Wednesday.
Posted inJustice
Winfield to swap out Lamont’s Clean Slate bill with a broader measure
The proposal would include the automatic erasure of most misdemeanors and certain felonies after a person stays conviction-free for roughly seven years.
Posted inJustice
Female inmates tell Murphy education is a line to outside world
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy visited York, the state’s only prison for women, to collect information on the Second Chance Pell pilot program, a federal grant that aims to reduce recidivism by expanding access to education for incarcerated people.
Posted inJustice
As Lamont touts Clean Slate proposal, advocates push broader reforms
Gov. Ned Lamont wants to automatically clear low-level misdemeanors. Advocates want felonies and more serious crimes included in the automatic pardon process.
Posted inJustice
Proposals to ease post-prison transitions en route to lawmakers this session
Housing, employment and research subcommittees released their recommendations to reduce barriers faced by people with criminal convictions.
Posted inJustice
High school athletes file suit against CT’s trans-inclusive sports policy
A conservative religious group filed the federal suit, which seeks to knock down Connecticut’s policy of allowing trans high school athletes to compete on teams that align with their gender identity.
Posted inJustice
Juvenile justice advocates: Let’s ‘Raise the Age’ again
Reformers want to see lawmakers raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 12, keeping younger children out of the system.
Posted inJustice
Lamont’s criminal justice plans: wiping some records, cheaper prison phone calls
Limited in scope, officials say the Clean Slate bill, which would automatically expunge some low-level criminal records after a waiting period, is a foundation that can be built on in future sessions.
Posted inGovernment, Justice
Under federal oversight, DCF makes strides in lowering social workers’ caseloads
For the first time in nearly 30 years of federal oversight, DCF has sufficiently lowered caseloads for social workers serving vulnerable children and families.
Posted inJustice
Criminal Justice Commission taps Richard Colangelo as chief state’s attorney
The appointment came after a daylong series of interviews of four finalists, who grappled with prosecutors’ role in high rates of incarceration nationwide.
