Sunday, September 23, 2007

Parole For Convicts Banned By Connecticut Gov.

As reported today in the New York Times and elsewhere, Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell on Friday banned parole for all incarcerated inmates convicted of a violent crime. The move was taken in response to a horrendous triple-murder committed during the course of a home invasion in July and to the shooting this past Friday of a Connecticut parolee by members of the NYPD following a carjacking in Hartford.

According to the Times, the governor directed the state's Board of Pardons and Paroles to immediately review all current parolees who were sentenced for violent crimes. The governor further decreed that any of those convicts who were found in violation of any condition of parole would be returned to prison to serve out the rest of their sentences.

More expansive parole reforms will doubtless be considered by the Legislature in the near future. One legislator interviewed for the story estimated that the ban would increase Conn.'s prison population by 1,500 within the next year.

The broader policy issues aside, I'm wondering whether the Governor's actions raise ex post facto concerns.

1 comment:

moi said...

Additionally, might there be a separation of powers problem?