To the distinguished members of the Joint Committee on Judiciary:
My name is Dwayne David Paul, and I’m the Director of the Collaborative Center for Justice, a Hartford-based organization sponsored by six communities of Catholic nuns, and the chair of the criminal justice team of the Greater Hartford Interfaith Action Alliance, or GHIAA. We wish to express our strong support for S.B. 1019.
I was heartened to hear several speakers note Connecticut’s great progress in addressing mass incarceration over the past decade. Noting how, among other things, changes in philosophy has resulted in fewer people in prison today. That’s tremendous. I, for one, admire people who are willing to change their behavior in response to new information and theories. It’s a sign of wisdom. I am also sure that the people of Connecticut will benefit from that wisdom moving forward. People involved in the system now, and in the future will benefit. Unfortunately, that is entirely irrelevant for the people who are already living with the criminal records they acquired before this very important change of heart. That’s where SB 1019 should come in.
Prison is punishment. Unlike many things discussed today, everyone’s in agreement on the matter. As a collection of tens of thousands of people of faith GHIAA agrees on that point. We also agree on something else: If prison is already punishment, then once released, everyone deserves a real second chance to rebuild their lives, provide for their families, and contribute to their communities.
It is not the role of government to grind its people into dust once they have paid their debt to society. That is not justice, that is vengeance. Two decades ago, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops – which, as I’m sure you imagine, isn’t some radical lefty organization – declared the following in their appeal to lawmakers to reform our criminal legal system:
“Just as God never abandons us, so too we must be in covenant with one another. We are all sinners, and our response to sin and failure should not be abandonment and despair, but rather justice, contrition, reparation, and return or reintegration of all into the community.”
Senate Bill 1019 would do just that. When people leave prison, they need jobs. That’s not just because it’ll keep people them off social services – which it will – they need jobs because meaningful work develops us as human beings. Because their kids deserve to see them working. They deserve to not face discrimination when they apply for housing and schools, not just because dignified housing keeps people off the streets and education creates a productive workforce – and they both do those things. People should not face discrimination for their criminal records because work, community, & education are among the many things that contribute to our humanity.
We vigorously support the strong anti-discrimination provisions for beneficiaries of Clean Slate. That is why we urge you to vote S.B. 1019 favorably out of committee intact. Thank you.
