2023 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 54 - Criminal Procedure
Chapter 961 - Trial and Proceedings after Conviction
Section 54-130a. (Formerly Sec. 18-26). - Jurisdiction and authority of board to grant commutations of punishment, releases, pardons and certificates of rehabilitation.
(a) Jurisdiction over the granting of, and the authority to grant, commutations of punishment or releases, conditioned or absolute, in the case of any person convicted of any offense against the state and commutations from the penalty of death shall be vested in the Board of Pardons and Paroles.
(b) The board shall have authority to grant pardons, conditioned, provisional or absolute, or certificates of rehabilitation for any offense against the state at any time after the imposition and before or after the service of any sentence.
(c) The board may accept an application for a pardon three years after an applicant's conviction of a misdemeanor or violation and five years after an applicant's conviction of a felony, except that the board, upon a finding of extraordinary circumstances, may accept an application for a pardon prior to such dates.
(d) Whenever the board grants an absolute pardon to any person, the board shall cause notification of such pardon to be made in writing to the clerk of the court in which such person was convicted, or the Office of the Chief Court Administrator if such person was convicted in the Court of Common Pleas, the Circuit Court, a municipal court, or a trial justice court.
(e) Whenever the board grants a provisional pardon or a certificate of rehabilitation to any person, the board shall cause notification of such provisional pardon or certificate of rehabilitation to be made in writing to the clerk of the court in which such person was convicted. The granting of a provisional pardon or a certificate of rehabilitation does not entitle such person to erasure of the record of the conviction of the offense or relieve such person from disclosing the existence of such conviction as may be required.
(f) In the case of any person convicted of a violation for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment may be imposed, the board shall have authority to grant a pardon, conditioned, provisional or absolute, or a certificate of rehabilitation in the same manner as in the case of any person convicted of an offense against the state.
(g) The board shall not deny any application for a pardon, unless the board provides a statement in writing to the applicant of the factors considered when determining whether the applicant qualified for the pardon and an explanation as to which factors were not satisfied.
(1949 Rev., S. 3020; 1959, P.A. 410, S. 4; P.A. 74-163, S. 5; P.A. 76-388, S. 5, 6; 76-436, S. 10a, 595, 681; P.A. 04-234, S. 2; P.A. 06-187, S. 86; P.A. 07-57, S. 1; P.A. 14-27, S. 1; P.A. 21-32, S. 2.)
History: 1959 act extended jurisdiction in Subsec. (a) from cases of persons confined in State Prison to persons convicted of any offense against the state; P.A. 74-163 added Subsec. (c) re notice of absolute pardon; P.A. 76-388 included circuit court and replaced “chief clerk” of court of common pleas with “chief judge” in Subsec. (c); P.A. 76-436 replaced “chief judge of common pleas court” with “office of the chief court administrator”, effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 04-234 replaced Board of Pardons with Board of Pardons and Paroles, effective July 1, 2004; Sec. 18-26 transferred to Sec. 54-130a in 2005; P.A. 06-187 amended Subsec. (b) to authorize board to grant “provisional” pardons, amended Subsec. (c) to provide that the “board”, rather than the “secretary of said board”, shall cause notification to be made and added Subsec. (d) to require that board cause written notification of the granting of provisional pardon to be made to clerk of the court in which the person granted such pardon was convicted and provide that granting of provisional pardon does not entitle the person to erasure of conviction record or relieve person from disclosing existence of conviction as may be required; P.A. 07-57 made a technical change in Subsec. (b), added new Subsec. (c) authorizing board to accept a pardon application 3 years after a misdemeanor or violation conviction and 5 years after a felony conviction or prior to such dates if extraordinary circumstances are found, redesignated existing Subsecs. (c) and (d) as Subsecs. (d) and (e) and added new Subsec. (f) authorizing board to grant a pardon to a person convicted of a violation for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment may be imposed in the same manner as a person convicted of an offense against the state; P.A. 14-27 amended Subsecs. (b), (e) and (f) to add references to certificates of rehabilitation; P.A. 21-32 added Subsec. (g) re written statement and explanation when application is denied, effective January 1, 2023.
Annotations to former section 18-26:
Cited. 124 C. 123; 145 C. 60; 152 C. 601. Board may revoke an absolute commutation prior to actual release of prisoner if factual basis for commutation proves to be erroneous and justification for granting commutation thereby abrogated. 206 C. 267. Cited. 208 C. 420.
Cited. 15 CA 161; 26 CA 132.
Cited. 26 CS 181; 35 CS 516.
