Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont has appointed Jennifer Medina Zaccagnini as the new Board of Pardons and Paroles chair.
The former chair, Carleton Giles, was facing backlash for commuting more than 70 violent crime sentences in 2022.
In previous years, only a handful of incarcerated individuals would be considered for sentence commutations. A 2021 law made it easier for incarcerated individuals to seek reduced sentences.
Republicans and crime victims demanded that Lamont replace Giles for commuting a high volume of sentences in a short period of time.
Lamont told the Hartford Courant that while he does not agree there were “too many commutations,” it may be time for the Legislature to reevaluate the commutation rules.
“I would say there were a lot of pardons in a short period of time,” Lamont told the Courant. “Maybe it’s time to take a pause and let the Legislature weigh in on what they think the rules of the road ought to be. And make sure that the advocates on both sides are at the table, so they have a full discussion. We’ll have that within two weeks.”
State Senate Republican Leader Kevin Kelly said he was appreciative of the governor for appointing a new chair, but that alone is not enough.
“I appreciate the governor’s willingness to take this step, but it does not change the fact that this outrageous policy of shaving decades and decades off of Connecticut murderers’ prison sentences continues to this day," Kelly said.
Newly appointed Zaccagnini has been a member of the Board of Pardons and Paroles since 2008.
