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The Connecticut Legislature recently adopted the “Second Look” bill, which ensures Connecticut law will comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Miller v. Alabama, prohibiting the automatic sentencing of juveniles to life without parole. This is a tremendous victory for the juvenile justice community in Connecticut, particularly the Sentencing Commission and its members, who worked tirelessly to get it passed. Read the article posted in the CT Law Tribune this week below.
Christian Nolan, The Connecticut Law Tribune
June 2, 2015 |
The General Assembly has passed legislation that would prevent courts from sentencing juveniles to life sentences without the possibility of a parole hearing.
The bill, which still must be signed by Gov. Dannel Malloy, would go into effect in October. It would bring Connecticut into compliance with two U.S. Supreme Court decisions that prohibit courts from sentencing juveniles to life without parole and require courts to consider the defendant's age and other mitigating factors before lengthy sentences can be issued. In the new Connecticut law, the mitigating factors must be considered for all juveniles convicted of serious felony convictions, mainly violent crimes, but not solely homicide cases. Advocates of the new law emphasize that the law merely provides the opportunity for a parole hearing and does not guarantee release.
The law states that a juvenile sentenced to less than 50 years in prison will be eligible for parole after serving 60 percent of the sentence, or 12 years, whichever is greater. If a juvenile is sentenced to more than 50 years in prison, he or she must serve 30 years before being considered for parole.
"What this bill does not do is guarantee that anyone will be released from incarceration," said Sen. Eric Coleman, D-Bloomfield, co-chairman of the General Assembly's Judiciary Committee. "Rather, the bill provides an opportunity for a person who committed an offense at less than 18 years of age to appear before a board of parole and receive the benefit of scientific and psychological evidence concerning child brain development during that hearing."
The two Supreme Court decisions which spurred the new legislation are Graham v. Florida and Miller v. Alabama. In Graham, the U.S. Supreme Court said in 2010 that the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment prohibits states from sentencing juveniles to life without parole for nonhomicide crimes. In Miller, the court held in 2012 that the Eighth Amendment also requires the court to consider certain scientific factors related to adolescent brain development before imposing long sentences on a minor. Advocates have said that brains don't fully mature until people are in their mid-20s, often leading to juveniles acting impulsively but also making it more likely for them to be rehabilitated.
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court rulings, the state Sentencing Commission proposed legislation altering Connecticut sentencing guidelines and, for the past three years, presented the proposals to lawmakers. While the bills made it out of the General Assembly's Judiciary Committee in 2013 and 2014, they did not get approval in both the House and Senate. In March, pressure increased on lawmakers to fine-tune Connecticut laws as the state Supreme Court, in State v. Riley, overturned a 100-year sentence for a defendant who was a juvenile in 2006 when he took part in a shooting that injured two people and killed one.
Just days after the ruling, the Judiciary Committee held a public hearing on the topic. Momentum picked up when ranking Republican members of the committee, who had in the past seemed reluctant to be viewed as going easy on violent criminals, seemed confident a bipartisan bill could get done this session.
After several tweaks, the bill finally gained full approval late last week.
Andrew Clark, acting executive director of the Connecticut Sentencing Commission, did not immediately respond to an interview request.
Elisa Villa, who is supervisory assistant public defender in Bristol and president of the Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, said the legislators were wise to defer "to the experts" on the Sentencing Commission. Members of the commission work in various backgrounds in the criminal justice system, including lawyers, judges and police. "There were a lot of very smart people working a very long time to get that legislation through in Connecticut," said Villa.
Villa said the law will codify what the courts have already done and keep things consistent going forward.
Experts say the new law will apply to approximately 200 convicted juveniles in Connecticut, of whom about 50 are serving sentences of 50 years or more. Most currently are not eligible for parole.
Marisa Mascolo Halm, J.D.
Director, TeamChild Juvenile Justice Project
Center for Children's Advocacy
65 Elizabeth Street
Hartford, CT 06105
P: 860-570-5327 ext. 228
C: 860-566-0764 F: 860-570-5256
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