Governor Dannel Malloy has signed a bill into law that attempts to give nonviolent criminals more opportunity to reintegrate into the community, with a promise to offer additional changes in the next legislative session.The Democrat held a bill-signing ceremony at the state Capitol on Thursday surrounded by supporters of the legislation, including the Republican leader of the state Senate, Len Fasano. Malloy says government needs to lend a helping hand to people who make little mistakes.
“Because after all when someone ends up with a criminal record for most of those individuals that means that they’ll never get a decent job, they’ll never qualify for decent housing and they can’t even get a student loan,” said Malloy.
Afterward, Malloy said he's compiling a "series of next steps for the next legislative session." He said he's working with criminal justice and correctional system leaders on new proposals.
Malloy spoke about recently visiting a maximum security prison in Berlin, Germany where 25 percent of the staff focuses on helping inmates turn around their lives.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.