Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles grants most requests, denies three; several cases continued

The Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles convened a virtual absolute-pardon hearing Feb. 11, 2025, and voted on applications from more than two dozen people seeking absolute pardons or other relief. Chair Jennifer Medina Zaccagnini opened the session and reiterated that any pardon granted is tentative until record checks are completed by the Connecticut State Police Bureau of Identification, a process the board said can take up to about 10 weeks.

Why it matters: Pardons erase a conviction from the state's public record if all post-hearing checks succeed, which can affect employment, licensing and travel. The board balanced cases where applicants described long periods of rehabilitation against cases where victims or standing protective orders remained in place.

Most of the day's applications were approved. The board recorded approved pardons for people including Donald Hawke Jr., Dwayne Fleming, Joey Gonzales, Michael Shortell, Dimitrios Sturgiotis, Javier Bernal Martinez, Paul Colicci, Alberto Miguel Correa, Frank Cruz Jr., Donald Fidalgo, David Funkhouser, Curtis Johnson, Matthew Laferrier, Jason Levitt, Clarence Mitchell III, David Moss, Joseph Ortega Maldonado, Kenneth Palmeri, Jennifer Rosa, Curtis Slaughter, Tennessee Tillis, Christopher Vendola and Richard Walker. Several other matters were continued or dismissed administratively.

Denials and reasons: The board denied three absolute-pardon requests during the session. In the case of Ernest Blake Jr., board members cited the seriousness of prior offenses and noted two active standing criminal protective orders in his file; the chair moved to deny and the motion carried. In Samuel Flicker’s case, the Office of Victim Services read a detailed victim statement describing lasting physical and neurological injuries; the board said the victim’s account and an active lifelong protective order weighed against granting relief and denied the pardon. The board also denied Woodrow Walker III’s pardon request…