Malloy Proposes Major Bail Changes

Gov. Dannel Malloy has launched the second part of his Second Chance Society initiatives and this time he is targeting the bail system and how adolescents are treated.

Last year the state removed mandatory minimums for simple drug possession crimes and reduced the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor.

Bail

Malloy proposed getting rid of bail for anyone charged with a misdemeanor, except if a judge finds the person poses an immediate threat or if they are charged with failure to appear.

“These are low-risk individuals,” he said at a Thursday briefing about the initiative.

The governor also proposed eliminating the need for bail bondsmen by having defendants make a cash deposit equal to 10 percent of the set bail. The defendant would get the money back if they showed up for court appearances and the money would be forfeit if they didn’t.

Under the current system defendants usually pay a fee equal to seven percent of the bail amount to a bail bondsman. The money is usually kept by the bondsman.

There are about 550 people in the prison system whose bail is set under $20,000. Malloy cited studies that show such defendants who are kept for between eight and 14 days in jail are 56 percent more likely to be rearrested before trial.

The reason for that is loss of contact with the outside world, which can be very disruptive to one’s life.

“You lose your job, you may lose your housing, you may lose contact with your support network or family,” Malloy said.

Generally people who have bail set at $20,000 can make it for between $250 and $2,000 under the current system.

Malloy also noted that the cost for housing those individuals in prison is about $120 per day to the state.

Youthful Offenders

Connecticut changed the way it treats 16 and 17-year-olds who aren’t repeat offenders and are being charged with a lesser crime. Malloy now wants to make it so the same applies to those 18 to 20-years-old.

This would do several things for 18 to 20-years-olds who are charged with anything but a serious violent crime or certain other crimes spelled out in statutes.

• It would prevent their name from being released publicly.
• They would have the opportunity to have their court files permanently sealed as long as they don’t’ re-offend within four years and they complete their sentence.
• Limit incarceration to no more than four years for low-risk offenses.

“We’ve raised the age before and the results have been an overwhelming success,” he said.

Malloy proposes adding 18-year-olds to the youthful offender status on July 1, 2017. 19-year-olds would be added in 2018 and 20-year-olds by 2019.