CT promised to erase the criminal records of 130,000 people. 18 months later, only 10% have been

In 2021, Connecticut passed the “ Clean Slate” law to erase conviction records for minor offenses. At the time, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) said it would change the lives of people who had been denied jobs, housing and education because of their criminal record.

Three years later, the state is struggling to keep its promise. Major issues with computer infrastructure have caused the delays — which have now turned into a temporary freeze on erasures — and advocates are fed up.

Sixteen years ago, Adam Osmond was convicted of a misdemeanor charge — his only brush with the law. Osmond maintains that he was wrongly accused, and said he pleaded guilty under the Alfred doctrine to get the case out of court. The five-year probation sentence he was given was later declared illegal by a judge, Osmond said.

Osmond said he was happy when Connecticut passed its Clean Slate law, which would automatically erase misdemeanors after seven years and certain low-class felonies after 10 years.

The erasure was scheduled for the beginning of 2023 . Osmond, who has done extensive research on criminal convictions in Connecticut, said he waited for more than a year for his record to be erased.

“The bill was passed just like every other bill. When it’s passed, it gets implemented. But this one kept, you know, delayed, delayed, delayed. And there’s a lot of people who are still waiting,” Osmond said.

[RELATED: CT ‘clean slate law’ full implementation faces another delay]

Osmond is one of only 13,000 people who have had their convictions erased — 120,000 are eligible. That’s according to data provided by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, which is overseeing the erasures.

“It’s a very complex process and much more complicated than we originally thought when the law was passed,” department spokesperson Richard Green said.

Connecticut officials have repeatedly blamed old computer systems for the delay. Green said the data quality and systems from state, local and federal sources have made it difficult to verify whether a record should be cleared.

The legislature also had to pass a second law last year to make technical changes to the original legislation. Lamont announced last December that 80,000 people were expected to have their convictions erased by the end of January — but it never happened.

Gus Marks-Hamilton, from the ACLU’s Smart Justice campaign , has been advocating for Clean Slate since it was first introduced in 2019.

“For people that get involved in the criminal legal system through arrest and through conviction and serving a sentence, there is a process and a system of accountability,” Marks-Hamilton said.

Now, months later, he said the repeated delays make it difficult to trust the system.

“But when it comes to our state, and when they pass laws and failed to implement those laws, in a lawful way there doesn’t seem to be a level of accountability for them in the same way that it is for people who are believing in the system,” Marks-Hamilton said.

Osmond also pointed out that Black and Hispanic residents are disproportionately impacted by the justice system.

“This affects a lot of minorities; it affects everybody, but, you know, a higher percentage of it is Black and Hispanic people,” Osmond said.

Connecticut isn’t the only state that’s struggling to implement Clean Slate — Delaware, Michigan, Virginia and Utah all face delays, too. Green said the fact that Connecticut is one of the first states to adopt Clean Slate legislation has made it difficult because there isn’t a guidebook.

Green said he anticipates Connecticut would be willing to buy new equipment if that’s what’s necessary.

“I think the state is ready to do whatever is necessary to complete this project as quickly as possible. I couldn’t speak to whether this means, you know, new computers or whatever. But I think that it is very clear that this is a top priority right now.”

The state recently paused all erasures while they hire an outside consultant to determine the best path forward. Marks-Hamilton said those updates were new to him.

“The last update that I’m aware of is back in March, when they announced that they had erased, you know, 13,000 people’s records, and that they anticipated in the summertime, they’d be erasing another 90,000 people’s records. I haven’t seen any press releases since then,” Marks-Hamilton said.

At the time this article was posted, the Clean Slate website claimed, “by July we anticipate that nearly 90,000 people will have their records wiped clean.”

That claim was disputed by Green, who said it needed to be updated.

Phil Kent is the co-chair of the legal reform team at Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut, known as CONECT . He says the lack of updates have added insult to injury — and while they wait, the impact on Connecticut residents who are waiting to have their records cleansed is growing.

“This has real impact on real people,” Kent said. “And the longer that it takes, the worse off their life is going to be in the meanwhile.”

David Bednarz, Lamont’s senior press secretary, said the governor is frustrated with the delays.

“Governor Lamont signed the Clean Slate bill into law because he believes that keeping minor crimes on someone’s permanent record for their entire lives can cause more harm than good. He is frustrated with the delay in implementation and remains committed to getting this done and getting this done right,” Bednarz said in a statement to WSHU.

He said Lamont remains committed to getting the eligible records erased.

“Since passage of the bill, he has directed his staff to coordinate with DESPP and other involved agencies to make this program a priority, and he has committed millions of dollars in state bond and operating funding to complete implementation,” Bednarz said. “That commitment will continue.”

Advocates have also called on the state to remove the cost for background checks — so residents can determine if their records have been cleared — hire more staff to help with the data issues and provide more frequent updates on their progress.

This story was first published July 19, 2024 by WSHU.