Republican Lawmakers Meet To Discuss Early Release Program

Michelle Cruz, the state’s victim advocate, talks to state lawmakers about a program that allows convicted criminals to earn credits toward early release from prison. (Amanda Falcone)

After listening to Michelle Cruz, the state’s victim advocate, rattle off statistics related to a program that lets convicted criminals earn credits toward early release from prison, Republican lawmakers said they were worried.

“This is a scary situation for the people of the state of Connecticut,” said Sen. John Kissel, R-Enfield.

Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, said Cruz’s presentation highlighted the concerns people have about the early release program.

“The facts you have given us go beyond the policy and the politics of early release,” he said.

Republican lawmakers are holding an informational hearing today to discuss the early release program, which was approved by the General Assembly in 2011. The program has received considerable attention this summer after a convenience store clerk in Meriden was shot and killed during a robbery in June.

Frankie Resto, who had been serving time for a 2006 robbery conviction, earned 199 days of credit toward early release and was released from prison in April. Two months later, he was accused of killing the clerk.

After the Meriden murder, Republicans said they asked the chairmen of the legislature’s judiciary committee to hold a hearing on the early release program, but the request was denied. As a result, Republicans decided to hold their own hearing, and they invited Democratic colleagues to join them.

Only one Democrat is participating in the hearing: Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield, D-New Haven. Holder-Winfield serves on the judiciary committee.

Representatives from state agencies, such as the Department of Correction, were also asked to participate, but chose not to.

“Sometimes public safety demands leadership whether we are in session or not,” said Sen. John Kissel, R-Enfield, highlighting the Republicans’ frustration with Democratic leadership.

In her presentation, Cruz said 7,589 inmates were released as a result of the early release program between Sept. 1, 2011 and June 29. The Department of Correction is reporting that 773 of those inmates were being returned to custody for new offenses or violating probation, she said.

The Department of Correction’s statistics are misleading because the department is only tracking inmates’s rate of recidivism if the inmate has been re-incarcerated, Cruz said. Recidivism rates should include those who have been arrested for new criminal offenses or violation of probation, but who have not been re-incarcerated, she said, adding that she believes the early release program is not changing behavior.