Colapietro joins GOP on losing vote on 3 strikes measure

A Republican effort in the state Senate to enact a modified version of a “three strikes and you’re out” measure fell short in the wee hours of Thursday morning, but the changes were enough to convince a Bristol Democrat to buck his party and side with the GOP.
State Sen. Tom Colapietro, whose 31st District includes Bristol, joined the Republicans on the losing side of an 19-16 vote that fell just short of passage.
Shortly afterward, with wide bipartisan support, the state Senate approved a bill that aims to toughen penalties for repeat violent offenders. It heads next to the state House.
The proposed change in state law calls for doubling the mandatory minimum sentences for second offenses and triple those sentences after a third conviction
But Colapietro said he backed an even tougher standard after Republican modified their original “3 strikes and you’re out” proposal to allow some discretion for judges.
“We just couldn’t afford a real three strikes and you’re out,” Colapietro said, because of the increased tab for prisons and the likelihood that many more accused criminals would seek full-blown trials instead of accepting plea deals.
“It would cost us a fortune” to implement the bill that Republicans originally championed, Colapietro said.
The senator said that the proposal “has nothing to do” with the sickening crimes in Cheshire and New Britain that spurred GOP efforts to toughen the law. In neither crime would a three strikes and you’re out law have kept the accused perpetrators behind bars.
Colapietro said that if it were up to him, he’d just “put a bullet” in the men who massacred three members of the Petit family in Cheshire last summer and invaded a home in New Britain recently.
Killers who commit those sorts of crimes deserve the death penalty, Colapietro said.
A section of the proposed legislation approved by the Senate calls for spending $10 million to hire more prosecutors, probation officers and public defenders, and provide more GPS tracking of offenders.
It also would expand a cold case unit, provide additional programs for people leaving prison, and fund a special unit that targets people with outstanding warrants.

Here's Sen. Colapietro's press release on the legislation:

SEN. COLAPIETRO: INCREASED SENTENCES SEND CLEAR MESSAGE, LEGISLATION GIVES LAW ENFORCEMENT NEEDED TOOLS

Doubling and tripling of minimum and maximum felony sentences; more money for prosecutors, state police, GPS tracking, alternative housing

Hartford - The Democrat-led state Senate early this morning overwhelmingly approved a much tougher version of Connecticut’s existing persistent dangerous felony offender law, doubling and tripling jail sentences for the most violent criminals and giving criminal justice professionals $10 million in new funding for the prosecutors, GPS tracking, state police, parolee supervision, warrant service, parole officers, alternative housing and other tools that they have requested—legislation that state Senator Thomas A. Colapietro (D-Bristol) praised.

“This bill sends a very clear message to criminals who try to take advantage of honest, law-abiding people in our state,” said Senator Colapietro. “This law says that when you commit a second serious crime, you don’t get a third chance. You will face a long time in prison. This law will help us keep violent, dangerous people in prison. It gives prosecutors and judges the tools that they need to get the job done and keep violent felons off the streets.”

The amendment to Senate Bill 671 was passed around 2 a.m. today on a 32-3 bipartisan vote in the Senate. The bill now heads to House of Representatives for consideration.

For criminals who are found to be “persistent dangerous felony offenders,” the bill doubles the minimum and maximum penalties (up to 40 years in prison) that they face upon a second serious felony conviction, and triples the minimum and maximum penalties (up to life in prison) for a third serious felony conviction.

“Dangerous felony” crimes generally include murder, manslaughter, arson, kidnapping, 1st- and 2nd-degree robbery, 1st- and 3rd-degree sexual assault, 1st-degree assault, home invasion, 1st-degree burglary, 2nd-degree burglary with a firearm, or any attempt to commit those crimes. The range of jail sentences for the most serious of these crimes generally ranges from 10 years to life; it is those ranges which will be doubled and tripled under the proposed new law.

The bill requires that prosecutors who do not seek persistent dangerous felony offender status for those who qualify must state on the record why they are not seeking that option.

The bill also provides $9,996,000 over the next year for a variety of law-enforcement tools, including:

$681,000 to the Division of Criminal Justice for enhancing the prosecution of repeat offenders and administrative coordination and information technology capacity.
$512,000 to the Public Defender Services Commission for enhancing the legal defense of indigent defendants and handling increased prosecutions.
$5,232,000 to the Judicial Department from the General Fund for enhancing court operations and probation supervision of sexual offenders, including the use of global positioning system and polygraph technologies, and for increasing the capacity to serve outstanding warrants for violations of probation, providing truancy prevention and establishing a juvenile justice urban cities pilot program.
$514,000 to the Department of Public Safety for hiring additional staff within the State Police Major Crime Squad.
$2,147,000 to the Department of Correction for funding alternative housing, additional correction and parole officers, expansion of the use of global positioning system devices in the supervision of parolees, and additional staff for the Board of Pardons and Paroles to screen parole candidates and process files.
$910,000 to the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for enhancing coordination and monitoring of community services for individuals served by the alternative supervision and intervention support teams, providing supportive housing for individuals served in the jail diversion or reentry programs, enhancing the women’s jail diversion program, and hiring an additional clinician to expand the capacity of the alternative drug intervention program.

The 2008 regular legislative session adjourns on May 7.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com