FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 19, 2023
CONTACT
Maximillien Inhoff
607-341-6759
CONECT, Governor Lamont and Allies Celebrate Long Awaited Implementation of Connecticut’s Clean Slate Law
“Connecticut and the nation are waking up to the hope and power of redemption.” - Philip Kent, Congregation Mishkan Israel in Hamden, tri-chair of CONECT’s Criminal Legal Reform Team
New Haven, CT (December 19, 2023) – Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut (CONECT) and Governor Ned Lamont, alongside key legislative and organizational allies, today announced Connecticut’s Clean Slate law is officially set to go into effect starting on January 1st, 2024.
Clean Slate is a Connecticut state law that requires the automatic erasure of certain lower-level felony and misdemeanor criminal conviction records from a person’s criminal record. More than 100,000 Connecticut residents are expected to have criminal records erased by early 2024.
“About 15 years ago, I faced a challenging time when I was arrested, leading to a misdemeanor larceny conviction,” said Adam Osmond with CONECT, who appeared at the press conference via a pre-recorded video. “It was the only time I've ever been arrested, but this single incident cast a long shadow over my life, resulting in job denials and years of hardship. But, it also ignited a passion within me to advocate for change. I became a staunch supporter of the Clean Slate bill, testified in its favor, and actively campaigned for its passage.”
The law was originally set to be implemented on January 1st, 2023, however, implementation was delayed, and a technical fix bill (H.B. 6918: An Act Concerning Erasure of Criminal History Records) was passed in May.
“I think we’re doing something right when you’ve got CONECT, the ACLU, JPMorgan Chase, Ronnell Higgins, our new head of public safety, all saying this is the right thing to do,” said Governor Ned Lamont. “It’s the right thing to do for the people who are getting a second chance, and we all deserve a second chance… we believe in redemption.”
The law requires the automatic erasure of eligible offenses that occurred after Jan. 1, 2000, and creates a petition process for erasure of eligible offenses that occurred before Jan. 1, 2000.
“What we have been doing is purposefully leaving people behind, purposefully leaving people in shackles that you can’t see when they come out of our system,” said Sen. Gary Winfield, Co-chair, Judiciary Committee. “Thank God for this, but there is a lot of work to do which includes what we do before we ever get here, and also we left some folks behind when we did this policy. Until this common sense approach applies to everyone, I ain’t done.”
According to the National Employment Law Project, 60% of people who have been incarcerated remain unemployed one year after release. Formerly incarcerated men can expect to work 9 fewer weeks per year and earn 40% less. Together, this amounts to an average overall loss of $179,000 by age 50.
“JPMorgan Chase is committed to giving people across the country a second chance. We're always looking for top talent in the communities we serve,” said Nan Gibson from JPMorgan Chase. “Clean Slate is common sense reform that lowers barriers to employment and more fully taps the talents of thousands of people who are currently unemployed or underemployed because of their past record.”
Additionally, according to The Sentencing Project, Black Americans are over 9 times more likely to be incarcerated than white Americans in Connecticut, and Hispanic Americans are over 4 times more likely to be incarcerated than whites, which exceeds the national average.
“Clean Slate is also properly understood as a small step we are taking as a society and as citizens of Connecticut to redeem ourselves after decades of policies that constructed mass incarceration built on incredible and insidious racism codified in our criminal justice system with a hyper-focus on punishment rather than rehabilitation. So today, it is not just criminals getting a clean slate, all of us collectively are, for we all have a lot to ask forgiveness for and to redeem ourselves from,” said Reverand Andal, Senior Pastor of Community Baptist Church and co-chair of CONECT.
CONECT has been organizing for Clean Slate since 2018. The grassroots energy for this policy came from members from various faith communities who shared the challenges of living with a criminal record, regardless of how long it has been since their sentence was completed.
More than 80 individuals joined to celebrate the implementation of Clean Slate and speak on behalf of the announcement, including Marc Pelka, Undersecretary of Criminal Justice Policy and Planning for the Office of Policy and Management, Mr. Anderson Curtis, ACLU, Mr. Jason Cooper, Vice President of the Clean Slate Initiative, Nan Gibson from JP Morgan Chase Bank, Rep. Robyn A. Porter, Rep. Steve Stafstrom, Co-chair of the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Gary Winfield, Co-chair of the Judiciary Committee, Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz, New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, plus other allies, organizers, and community members.
A recording of the conference can be found here.
ADDITIONAL REMARKS:
Mr. Jason Cooper, Vice President, Clean Slate Initiative: “Every day, I work with partners in states nationwide where coalitions are following Connecticut’s lead and I can tell you what the data says. Clean Slate laws are good for working families, employers, and the economies as a whole.”
Anderson Curtis, Senior Policy Organizer at the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut: “The implementation of clean slate is a step in the process of restoring humanity and dignity to people. I advocated for Clean Slate though I was not eligible for Clean Slate. This work is about people not politics.”
Justin Elicker, Mayor of New Haven: “We talk a lot about being a second chance society but the reality is that we are not. Around 900 people come back to the City of New Haven out of prison… With this initiative today we are one step closer to truly following through with what our promise should be: a second-chance society.”
Rep. Steve Stafstrom, Co-chair, Judiciary Committee: “This bill, in my 10 years in the legislature, is arguably the single biggest economic development bill the State of Connecticut has passed.”
Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz: “Today, we have the opportunity to see the erasure of records of more than 100,000 people… right now in our state, there are over 100,000 jobs for people. We have an incredible opportunity to fill those jobs with determined, tenacious people who want to show they’ve learned from their mistakes and become productive citizens.”
Rodney Moore, tri-chair of CONECT’s Criminal Legal Reform Team: “With Clean Slate, Connecticut can be a model for states across the country for how we can begin to end the continuing harm of mass incarceration, which has been particularly devastating to Black and brown communities here and across the country. Clean Slate is good for families, its good for so many fathers that I work with everyday, and it’s good for our communities that can regain some wholeness and benefit from new opportunities opened by the implementation of Clean Slate.”
Philip Kent, Congregation Mishkan Israel in Hamden, tri-chair of CONECT’s Criminal Legal Reform Team: “Connecticut was just the 4th state to adopt Clean Slate when it passed in 2021. Now 12 states have Clean Slate laws, including New York just recently. And bringing new inspiration, Pennsylvania passed its third update to Clean Slate just last week to now include the sealing of felony records. Connecticut and the nation are waking up to the hope and power of redemption.”
From left to right: Rep. Steve Stafstrom, Sen. Gary Winfield, Governor Ned Lamont, Rev. Dr. Philippe Andal, Dr. Liz Keenan, Rodney Moore, Philip Kent.
Governor Ned Lamont and Ms. Rogsbert “Tammy” King wipe the slate clean.
About CONECT (Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut)
CONECT is a collective of churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, and civic organizations from New Haven and Fairfield Counties – representing more than 30,000 people from different races, faith backgrounds, and living in both cities and suburbs – that have joined together to take action on social and economic justice issues of common concern. CONECT has made an impact on issues as varied as gun violence, health insurance rates, police reform, immigrant rights, and more.
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