from WSHU | By Molly Ingram

It’s been three years since Connecticut passed its “Clean Slate” law, which was meant to erase low-level criminal convictions for more than 100,000 residents. Repeated delays have left advocates disappointed and, in some cases, distrustful of the government.

When Clean Slate became law in 2021, Dawn Grant-Lockley was ecstatic.

“It felt amazing,” Grant-Lockley said, reflecting on that moment.

The licensed social worker served four years in prison for conspiracy to murder and has been turned down for a pardon four times. She co-chairs the Legal Reform team at Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut (CONECT).

Grant-Lockley isn’t eligible for erasure under Connecticut’s Clean Slate law, which was supposed to expunge misdemeanors after seven years and certain low-class felonies after 10 years.

But she said it was still a huge moment for the 130,000 people who were eligible.

“I know what it feels like to not have a pardon,” Grant-Lockley said. “I know what it feels like to not get jobs because of your record, to not be able to find housing because of your record.”

Nearly four years later, only about 13,000 people have had their convictions erased. The state blamed aging computer systems and poor data quality, which it said made it hard to confirm whether a person’s record should be erased.

“This was likely the most complex IT project that the state of Connecticut has ever taken on,” Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner Ronell Higgins recently said.

Higgins said he expects erasures to resume in the fall. To speed up the process, the department has appointed a new project manager and secured more bond funding.

“This is important,” Higgins said. “We know, and I have heard time and time again, and it resonates with me that justice delayed is, in fact, justice denied.”

Grant-Lockley said CONECT’s conversations with the state, which happen once every two months or so, have been genuine. But she said the repeated delays have stoked distrust in the government and criminal justice system among people who were already weary.

“People are absolutely losing faith,” Grant-Lockley said. “There was not a lot of faith, I think, to start, because there’s the over-policing in lower income or predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods. There’s a higher rate of incarceration for Black and brown people within the state of Connecticut. Clean Slate was, I think, going to help offset that in a lot of people’s minds.”

Phil Kent is one of the other legal reform co-chairs at CONECT. He hopes erasures will resume in the fall but will not believe it until he sees it.

In the meantime, people who expected their erasure years ago are stuck in limbo.

“This is affecting real people’s lives,” Kent said. “People who depend on something like Clean Slate are looking at Clean Slate because it’s going to impact how much they earn, what kind of jobs they can get, where they can live, and even their ability to go back to school. ”

Kent said it’s his understanding that when erasures become possible, they’ll all be done simultaneously.

And, when that happens, he said he wouldn’t be surprised if the team at CONECT invites the governor to celebrate with them — like they’ve done a few times already, when they thought erasures were going to start again.

“We believe in the power of people to come together and work together to get things done,” Kent said. “And we believe in doing that with people from all backgrounds, all faiths. We believe in the power of redemption.”

Connecticut isn’t the only state to face delays in implementation. Minnesota, Delaware, and Michigan are all facing setbacks, too.