{"id":1114,"date":"2024-07-26T21:29:39","date_gmt":"2024-07-26T21:29:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paperprisons.org\/news\/?p=1114"},"modified":"2024-07-30T07:03:39","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T07:03:39","slug":"ct-promised-to-erase-the-criminal-records-of-130000-people-18-months-later-only-10-have-been-july-27-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paperprisons.org\/news\/all\/news\/ct-promised-to-erase-the-criminal-records-of-130000-people-18-months-later-only-10-have-been-july-27-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"CT promised to erase the criminal records of 130,000 people. 18 months later, only 10% have been (July 26, 2024)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

HARTFORD, Co. (WSHU<\/a>)<\/strong> – In 2021, Connecticut passed the \u201cClean Slate\u201d law<\/a>\u00a0to erase conviction records for minor offenses. At the time, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) said it would change the lives of people who had been denied jobs, housing and education because of their criminal record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three years later, the state is struggling to keep its promise. Major issues with computer infrastructure have caused the delays <\/a>\u2014 which have now turned into a temporary freeze on erasures \u2014 and advocates are fed up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sixteen years ago, Adam Osmond was convicted of a misdemeanor charge \u2014 his only brush with the law. Osmond maintains that he was wrongly accused, and said he pleaded guilty under the Alfred doctrine to get the case out of court. The five-year probation sentence he was given was later declared illegal by a judge, Osmond said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Osmond said he was happy when Connecticut passed its Clean Slate law, which would automatically erase misdemeanors after seven years and certain low-class felonies after 10 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The erasure was scheduled for the beginning of 2023<\/a>. Osmond, who has done extensive research<\/a> on criminal convictions in Connecticut, said he waited for more than a year for his record to be erased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe bill was passed just like every other bill. When it\u2019s passed, it gets implemented. But this one kept, you know, delayed, delayed, delayed. And there\u2019s a lot of people who are still waiting,\u201d Osmond said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Osmond is one of only 13,000 people who have had their convictions erased \u2014 120,000 are eligible. That\u2019s according to data provided by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, which is overseeing the erasures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very complex process and much more complicated than we originally thought when the law was passed,\u201d department spokesperson Richard Green said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connecticut officials have repeatedly blamed old computer systems for the delay. Green said the data quality and systems from state, local and federal sources have made it difficult to verify whether a record should be cleared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The legislature also had to pass a second law last year to make technical changes to the original legislation. Lamont announced last December that 80,000 people were expected to have their convictions erased by the end of January \u2014 but it never happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gus Marks-Hamilton, from the ACLU\u2019s Smart Justice campaign<\/a>, has been advocating for Clean Slate since it was first introduced in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor people that get involved in the criminal legal system through arrest and through conviction and serving a sentence, there is a process and a system of accountability,\u201d Marks-Hamilton said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, months later, he said the repeated delays make it difficult to trust the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut when it comes to our state, and when they pass laws and failed to implement those laws, in a lawful way there doesn\u2019t seem to be a level of accountability for them in the same way that it is for people who are believing in the system,\u201d Marks-Hamilton said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Osmond also pointed out<\/a> that Black and Hispanic residents are disproportionately impacted by the justice system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis affects a lot of minorities; it affects everybody, but, you know, a higher percentage of it is Black and Hispanic people,\u201d Osmond said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connecticut isn\u2019t the only state that\u2019s struggling to implement Clean Slate \u2014 Delaware, Michigan, Virginia and Utah all face delays, too. Green said the fact that Connecticut is one of the first states to adopt Clean Slate legislation has made it difficult because there isn\u2019t a guidebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Green said he anticipates Connecticut would be willing to buy new equipment if that\u2019s what\u2019s necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think the state is ready to do whatever is necessary to complete this project as quickly as possible. I couldn\u2019t speak to whether this means, you know, new computers or whatever. But I think that it is very clear that this is a top priority right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state recently paused all erasures while they hire an outside consultant to determine the best path forward. Marks-Hamilton said those updates were new to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe last update that I\u2019m aware of is back in March, when they announced that they had erased, you know, 13,000 people\u2019s records, and that they anticipated in the summertime, they\u2019d be erasing another 90,000 people\u2019s records. I haven\u2019t seen any press releases since then,\u201d Marks-Hamilton said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time this article was posted, the Clean Slate website claimed, \u201cby July we anticipate that nearly 90,000 people will have their records wiped clean.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That claim was disputed by Green, who said it needed to be updated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phil Kent is the co-chair of the legal reform team at Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut, known as CONECT<\/a>. He says the lack of updates have added insult to injury \u2014 and while they wait, the impact on Connecticut residents who are waiting to have their records cleansed is growing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis has real impact on real people,\u201d Kent said. \u201cAnd the longer that it takes, the worse off their life is going to be in the meanwhile.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Bednarz, Lamont\u2019s senior press secretary, said the governor is frustrated with the delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGovernor Lamont signed the Clean Slate bill into law because he believes that keeping minor crimes on someone\u2019s permanent record for their entire lives can cause more harm than good. He is frustrated with the delay in implementation and remains committed to getting this done and getting this done right,\u201d Bednarz said in a statement to WSHU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said Lamont remains committed to getting the eligible records erased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince passage of the bill, he has directed his staff to coordinate with DESPP and other involved agencies to make this program a priority, and he has committed millions of dollars in state bond and operating funding to complete implementation,\u201d Bednarz said. \u201cThat commitment will continue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advocates have also called on the state to remove the cost for background checks \u2014 so residents can determine if their records have been cleared \u2014 hire more staff to help with the data issues and provide more frequent updates on their progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story was first published July 19, 2024 by WSHU.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Original Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HARTFORD, Co. (WSHU) – In 2021, Connecticut passed the \u201cClean Slate\u201d law\u00a0to erase conviction records for minor offenses. At the time, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) said it would change the lives of people who had been denied jobs, housing and education because of their criminal record. Three years later, the state is struggling to keep […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paperprisons.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paperprisons.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paperprisons.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paperprisons.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paperprisons.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1114"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/paperprisons.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1191,"href":"https:\/\/paperprisons.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1114\/revisions\/1191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paperprisons.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paperprisons.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paperprisons.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}