Press Releases
07/13/2015
Gov. Malloy Applauds President Obama’s Efforts to See that ‘America is a Nation of Second Chances’
(HARTFORD, CT) - Governor Dannel P. Malloy today applauded an announcement by President Barack Obama that he is commuting the sentences of 46 men and women convicted of nonviolent drug offenses who received harsh sentences disproportionate to their crimes. President Obama noted that overly-harsh sentencing for nonviolent offenses foment a cycle of permanent punishment, making it even harder for those to re-enter society.
"These men and women were not hardened criminals, but the overwhelming majority had been sentenced to at least 20 years. Fourteen of them had been sentenced to life for nonviolent drug offenses, so their punishments didn't fit the crime," President Obama said in a video released on the White House Facebook page. "I believe that America, at its heart, is a nation of second chances, and I believe these folks deserve their second chance."
Governor Malloy said that the President's message is aligned with the Second Chance Society, smart-on-crime initiatives that he proposed earlier this year. Just last week, Governor Malloy held a bill signing ceremony to commemorate final passage of the "Second Chance Society" legislation he introduced, which focuses on ensuring that nonviolent drug offenders receive appropriate penalties that do not perpetuate a cycle of permanent punishment, and that serves help ex-offenders become productive workers in our economy.
"For too long we invested in permanent punishment instead of permanent reform, as we build modern jails instead of modern schools. The efforts we are undertaking in Connecticut are part of a much broader movement that all states across our nation - both blue and red - are adopting, and now the President is helping lead the national conversation that is long overdue," Governor Malloy said. "For too long, backwards criminal justice policies have hurt too many communities and families. We can keep our neighborhoods safe, drive down violent crime, and ensure that nonviolent offenders become productive workers in our economy by using strategies that work - and by giving people the second chance upon which our nation was founded."
President Obama is scheduled to unveil a series of criminal justice reform proposals during a keynote address tomorrow at the NAACP's 106th Annual Convention in Philadelphia.
- Twitter: @GovMalloyOffice
- Facebook: Office of Governor Dannel P. Malloy