Month: December 2023

Opposing Mandatory Pre-Trial Detention in Connecticut

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Opposing Mandatory Pre-Trial Detention in Connecticut

Criminological research is clear: harsh pre-trial detention—whether in the form of cash bail or mandatory confinement—is not an effective tool of community safety. Furthermore, it tends to exacerbate race- and class-based inequality in the criminal justice system. In view of these empirical realities, many jurisdictions, over the last decade, have been moving steadily away from pre-trial detention. Connecticut should as well.

Supporting Fair Commutation Policy in Connecticut

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Supporting Fair Commutation Policy in Connecticut

One important ingredient of the effort to curb mass incarceration—in Connecticut and elsewhere—is the use of commutation powers by the executive branch. We applaud Gov. Lamont for taking up this important mantle. At the same time, commutation powers must be used in a fair, even-handed way; otherwise, they stand to imperil, rather than safeguard, the rule of law. In the linked-to letter, we outline several principles that should guide the exercise of executive lenience in the service of decarceration.