Record-Journal
08-01-2007, 12:28 AM
Anyone convicted of second-degree burglary — which involves entering a home either at night, when a building is occupied, or both — will be subject to random and unannounced nighttime checks of their homes and workplaces by parole officers, according to Gov. M. Jodi Rell.
Rell, Board of Pardons and Paroles Chairman Robert Farr and state Department of Correction Commissioner Theresa Lantz agreed on the policy change Tuesday as part of a response to community alarm that the two men accused of murder, assault and arson in a Cheshire home invasion were on parole after serving time for burglary convictions.
Thirty-eight parolees have been convicted of second-degree burglary. The new policy will apply to them as well as any future parolees with the same conviction.
Rell is also asking that second-degree burglary be reclassified as a violent offense that would require a prisoner to serve at least 85 percent of his or her sentence before being eligible for parole.
Once a person is eligible, he or she will no longer be released based on an administrative parole hearing. Such a release will now require a full board review.
Joshua Komisarjevsky, 26, and Steven Hayes, 44, were both out on parole at the time they are accused of murdering three members of a Cheshire family, seriously injuring the father and setting the house on fire. Komisarjevsky had been convicted of second-degree burglary in 2002.
Hayes also had burglary convictions but they were third-degree burglary charges, which are less severe than second-degree.
In the aftermath of the murders, Rell, members of the legislature and the public have called for a review of parole procedures. Rell has gone even further, calling for a “top-to-bottom review” of the entire judicial process from arrest to release.
State Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, said that while changing the sentence or even the parole requirements looks good on paper, he’s not convinced it’s the answer to the problem.
“In any other state, Hayes would have already been released because of good-time credits,” he said. “And the question for Komisarjevsky really becomes ‘Should he have been out this year or next year?’ He pled guilty to 12 counts of second-degree burglary in Bristol, plus he had prior convictions out of the Meriden court, so technically, he could have been sentenced to 120 years in jail if all sentences were served consecutively.”
Lawlor said by the time the case reached the parole board, the opportunity had already been missed to treat either man properly according to the actual details of the crimes they committed.
He said that, as Farr has acknowledged, the parole board did not have the actual transcripts of Komisarjevsky’s court case in Bristol, and because Hayes was allowed to plead to a lesser crime, some of the details of his cases also did not come to light.
In order to address at least some of these concerns, Rell, Farr and Lantz also announced, according to the statement issued Wednesday, a number of changes to improve the flow of information between the judicial system and the parole board.
Under the direction of Chief State’s Attorney Kevin Kane, all police reports are now being provided to the parole board and the DOC, and both organizations will be able to access all pre-sentencing investigative reports electronically.
Kane has also asked all state’s attorneys to provide both the parole board and the DOC with sentencing transcripts, which will provide perspective from both the sentencing judges and victims.
Lawlor said that had parole board members had a transcript from Komisarjevsky’s Bristol court case or been aware of all the original charges against Hayes, it might have changed their decision about paroling either man.
“The prosecutor did a tremendous job showing how all of Komisarjevsky’s burglaries were related,” he said. “He brought up points about a history of mental illness, the fact that the kid had a photographic memory, that he intricately planned out each one, that he was incredibly bright, I mean he got caught for one burglary but then confessed to the others. He even took police to the pawn shops where he sold things he’d stolen. He was very detailed in his information. There is also an indication of sexual abuse in his childhood, the fact that he was home-schooled and came from a very wealthy family but found out at 14 he’d been adopted. The kid’s life was a mess. It’s an unusual situation and something about this totally did not make sense. It’s about a lot more than this kid needing money for drugs.”
In addition, because Hayes pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, it wasn’t noted that he had brought a gun to at least one of those burglaries.
“If you bring a gun to a burglary, you’ve got something in mind,” Lawlor said. He said that of those in jail for simple burglaries, 90 percent or better are “drug addicts who need money for their drugs and nothing more.” But a few, like Komisarjevsky, have circumstances beyond the normal.
Rell, Board of Pardons and Paroles Chairman Robert Farr and state Department of Correction Commissioner Theresa Lantz agreed on the policy change Tuesday as part of a response to community alarm that the two men accused of murder, assault and arson in a Cheshire home invasion were on parole after serving time for burglary convictions.
Thirty-eight parolees have been convicted of second-degree burglary. The new policy will apply to them as well as any future parolees with the same conviction.
Rell is also asking that second-degree burglary be reclassified as a violent offense that would require a prisoner to serve at least 85 percent of his or her sentence before being eligible for parole.
Once a person is eligible, he or she will no longer be released based on an administrative parole hearing. Such a release will now require a full board review.
Joshua Komisarjevsky, 26, and Steven Hayes, 44, were both out on parole at the time they are accused of murdering three members of a Cheshire family, seriously injuring the father and setting the house on fire. Komisarjevsky had been convicted of second-degree burglary in 2002.
Hayes also had burglary convictions but they were third-degree burglary charges, which are less severe than second-degree.
In the aftermath of the murders, Rell, members of the legislature and the public have called for a review of parole procedures. Rell has gone even further, calling for a “top-to-bottom review” of the entire judicial process from arrest to release.
State Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, said that while changing the sentence or even the parole requirements looks good on paper, he’s not convinced it’s the answer to the problem.
“In any other state, Hayes would have already been released because of good-time credits,” he said. “And the question for Komisarjevsky really becomes ‘Should he have been out this year or next year?’ He pled guilty to 12 counts of second-degree burglary in Bristol, plus he had prior convictions out of the Meriden court, so technically, he could have been sentenced to 120 years in jail if all sentences were served consecutively.”
Lawlor said by the time the case reached the parole board, the opportunity had already been missed to treat either man properly according to the actual details of the crimes they committed.
He said that, as Farr has acknowledged, the parole board did not have the actual transcripts of Komisarjevsky’s court case in Bristol, and because Hayes was allowed to plead to a lesser crime, some of the details of his cases also did not come to light.
In order to address at least some of these concerns, Rell, Farr and Lantz also announced, according to the statement issued Wednesday, a number of changes to improve the flow of information between the judicial system and the parole board.
Under the direction of Chief State’s Attorney Kevin Kane, all police reports are now being provided to the parole board and the DOC, and both organizations will be able to access all pre-sentencing investigative reports electronically.
Kane has also asked all state’s attorneys to provide both the parole board and the DOC with sentencing transcripts, which will provide perspective from both the sentencing judges and victims.
Lawlor said that had parole board members had a transcript from Komisarjevsky’s Bristol court case or been aware of all the original charges against Hayes, it might have changed their decision about paroling either man.
“The prosecutor did a tremendous job showing how all of Komisarjevsky’s burglaries were related,” he said. “He brought up points about a history of mental illness, the fact that the kid had a photographic memory, that he intricately planned out each one, that he was incredibly bright, I mean he got caught for one burglary but then confessed to the others. He even took police to the pawn shops where he sold things he’d stolen. He was very detailed in his information. There is also an indication of sexual abuse in his childhood, the fact that he was home-schooled and came from a very wealthy family but found out at 14 he’d been adopted. The kid’s life was a mess. It’s an unusual situation and something about this totally did not make sense. It’s about a lot more than this kid needing money for drugs.”
In addition, because Hayes pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, it wasn’t noted that he had brought a gun to at least one of those burglaries.
“If you bring a gun to a burglary, you’ve got something in mind,” Lawlor said. He said that of those in jail for simple burglaries, 90 percent or better are “drug addicts who need money for their drugs and nothing more.” But a few, like Komisarjevsky, have circumstances beyond the normal.