Gov. Dannel P. Malloy thanked his audience of veterans for their service in the preservation of liberty. Malloy caught himself and said, “That sounds a little weird, talking about freedom in a facility like this.” Some of the men nodded. A few smiled. All were prison inmates.
Justice
Stories about law enforcement, the courts, prisons and offenders, immigration, juvenile justice, and public corruption.
Posted inEducation, Justice
Malloy: Raise the age for juvenile justice system to 20
In a major policy speech Friday at a criminal-justice symposium, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy proposed overhauling Connecticut’s bail system and making the state the first in the U.S. to treat defendants as juveniles up to age 20. Both proposals could significantly lower incarceration rates.
Posted inEducation, Justice
CSCU seeks funding to offer college degrees to inmates
The state’s largest public college system is asking the federal government to fund degree-granting programs in nine of the state’s prisons. The programs would help inmates successfully return to society and boost falling enrollment at the state’s community colleges.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Court upholds post-Newtown gun laws in Conn., N.Y.
A federal appeals court Monday upheld the central provisions of the sweeping gun control laws passed by the New York and Connecticut legislatures in response to the mass murders of 26 children and staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.
Posted inJustice
A bittersweet day for Second Chances in New Haven
NEW HAVEN – Waiting for the governor to arrive for the press conference about criminal justice reform, Police Chief Dean Esserman talked shop with Michael P. Lawlor, the governor’s criminal justice adviser. There had been a homicide the previous night, a young man shot on the street.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Justice, Politics
Blumenthal keeps his consumer focus with a shot at VW
The Volkswagen scandal is the latest consumer issue seized on by Richard Blumenthal, who has made consumer protection a priority in his five years in the U.S. Senate, much as he did during his 20 years as Connecticut’s attorney general.
Posted inJustice, Money
Foundations provide reprieve for laid-off legal-aid lobbyists
Grants from the Melville Charitable Trust and two anonymous family foundations will help give Connecticut’s poor at least one more legislative session represented by lobbyists for the state’s cash-strapped legal-aid groups. But the long-term financial prospects of legal-aid remain precarious.
Posted inEducation, Justice
Youth service officers: We are not abusing kids in jail
Staff from CJTS speak out against reports on conditions inside the state-run jails A state investigation that uncovered improper use of restraint and seclusion at Connecticut’s juvenile correction facilities left out one important element, front line staff members say: their voices. “We cannot and will not be portrayed as the enemy or the abuser of […]
Posted inData, Education, Justice
The state of Connecticut juvenile incarceration in 17 charts
Each year about 3,000 children enter Connecticut’s juvenile justice system after being convicted of breaking the law. Here, in graphical form, is a historical overview of what happens to youth after they are found guilty, including details on the jails where about 200 youths each year are sent to live.
Posted inEducation, Justice
Few disciplined over restraints, seclusion in juvenile jails
There were only two cases during the 12-month period ending June 30 in which the Department of Children and Families moved to discipline staff for improperly restraining a youth at the Connecticut Juvenile Training School for boys or the neighboring Pueblo Unit for girls.
Posted inEducation, Justice
Juvenile incarceration in Connecticut: A tale of two agencies
It is a tale of two state agencies that run Connecticut’s juvenile justice system. One is now under fire from child advocates and attorneys for mistreating incarcerated youth. The other agency once was, but is now considered a national model.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Legislature confirms first openly gay justice for Supreme Court
The General Assembly on Wednesday confirmed Andrew J. McDonald, a former Democratic state senator and longtime confidant of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, as the first openly gay justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.
Posted inJustice
When a call for help gets victims arrested
She was bloodied, her eye nearly swollen shut, still groggy from being knocked unconscious by her date. Gertha Lee waited for a safe opportunity to call the police. Gertha Lee: ‘I didn’t think they were going to arrest me’ Gertha Lee: ‘I didn’t think they were going to arrest me’ “I came to, and that’s […]