Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles grants 30 pardons, denies 1 in January 14 absolute‑pardon session

The Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles held an absolute‑pardon hearing via Zoom on Jan. 14, 2025, and voted on more than three dozen individual applications. Chairperson Rufaro O. Berry opened the session by noting the board’s authority to erase convictions and issue certificates of employability, saying, "The people of the state of Connecticut have vested the board of pardons and paroles with extraordinary powers to grant pardons for convictions in the state."

The board’s panel for the hearing included Chairperson Rufaro O. Berry and members Sergio Rodriguez and Deborah Smith Palmeri. Parole Officer Ferraro served as hearing coordinator and staff assisted throughout the livestreamed session. The board treated each application as a separate formal motion and recorded votes on each item; results were read into the record at the time each application was considered.

Why it matters: A full, absolute pardon erases a criminal conviction under Connecticut practice only after required record checks and administrative steps are complete. Pardons in these cases can affect employment eligibility, licensing and other collateral consequences. Victim input and the seriousness of the original offense were central to the board’s deliberations on several contested files.

What the board decided: By the end of the session the board granted a majority of the cases it heard, denied one application, and continued two matters to later dockets. The board recorded motions and votes for each applicant in the public record and, in most cases, issued unanimous or majority decisions to grant pardons. The board also reminded applicants that any pardon is tentative until state police record checks are complete and the certificate of pardon is mailed.

Contested or notable cases - Joseph Stanley Burden: After a lengthy victim statement and attorney argument, the board voted to deny Burden’s application. The board cited the injury to victims and the seriousness of the underlying offenses in the motion to deny. The motion to deny carried in roll call votes.

- Geraldo Luciano: Board members discussed whether victim outreach had been required because multiple victims were listed; staff advised the panel that the case did not meet victim‑outreach criteria under policy. The board then voted by majority to grant Luciano a full and absolute pardon.

- Dominic Damiano III: A victim appeared by Zoom and gave a detailed statement opposing a pardon. Board members noted the victim’s account and the applicant’s subsequent sobriety and parenting record; Damiano’s application was granted by majority vote.

- Russell Dion: The state’s attorney filed an objection in this case, noting the statutory seriousness of a first‑degree sexual‑assault conviction and the lifetime registration requirement that followed from the conviction. Board members weighed that objection against the applicant’s decades of sobriety, treatment and post‑release conduct and voted to grant the pardon by majority.

How votes were recorded: Motions were made on the record for each applicant (for example, "I move that Jamie Marie Lafontaine be granted a full and absolute pardon"). Board members Deborah Smith Palmeri and Sergio Rodriguez typically answered “Aye” when voting in favor; Chairperson Berry announced the board’s final tally and confirmed outcomes aloud for each applicant. The hearing coordinator reiterated that pardons voted by the board are tentative pending administrative completion of record checks.

Victim input and prosecutor comments: Victim statements were taken in several cases. In the Joseph Stanley Burden matter a woman who identified herself in the hearing as a victim urged denial and described lasting trauma; she said, "He assaulted me over and over and over again," during her statement to the panel. The Office of the Chief State’s Attorney also provided input in at least one case, advising the board of statutory and public‑interest considerations.

Post‑hearing procedure: The board noted that any positive votes are tentative until the Connecticut State Police Bureau of Identification confirms records can be erased; it may take several weeks for certificates to be issued by mail. The board repeated that, until a certificate arrives, applicants should not represent that their Connecticut record has been erased.

Votes at a glance (selected outcomes) - Jamie Marie Lafontaine — motion to grant: passed (majority unanimous on the record). - Shalonda Rochelle Mitchell Hardy — motion to grant: passed. - James Tracy Robinson — motion to grant: passed. - Andrew Thomas Vasquez — motion to grant: passed. - Joseph Stanley Burden — motion to deny (reasons: victim injury/impact; seriousness diminished by expungement): passed (denied). - Dominic Damiano III — motion to grant: passed (majority). - Diane Lee Del Rosario — motion to grant: passed. - Geraldo Luciano — motion to grant: passed (majority). - Tyrone Lumpkin — motion to grant: passed. - Calvin (Calvin/Calvin) Ruiz — motion to grant: passed. - James Barjon — motion to grant: passed. - Chetan (Chitayan) Brown — motion to grant: passed. - Hector David Cruz Jr. — motion to grant: passed. - Dwight Dickerson — motion to grant: passed. - Russell Dion — motion to grant: passed (state’s attorney objected; board majority granted). - Christy/Christie Gray — motion to grant: passed. - Jenny Christine Hicks (listed as Hicks; legal name later noted as Riley) — motion to grant: passed. - Margaret A. Little — motion to grant: passed. - Michael Lurie Jr. — motion to grant: passed. - Snowby McDaniel — motion to grant: passed. - Emilio Mercado — motion to grant: passed. - Kyle S. Mortensen — motion to grant: passed. - James Patrick Ricketts — motion to grant: passed. - Jose Antonio Rivera Jr. — motion to grant: passed. - Michael Sean Saunders — motion to grant: passed. - Kumar Scotland — motion to grant: passed. - Bridget Staten — motion to grant: passed. - Justin Robert Theriault — motion to grant: passed by majority (one board member explained concerns but joined majority). - Anthony Valentino — motion to grant: passed. - Joshua Michael Walker — motion to grant: passed. - Devon Marquis Yeomans — motion to grant: passed.

Continued/Rescheduled cases - Michael Joseph Shortell — continued to the Feb. 11, 2025 docket at his attorney’s request. - Anna K. Roberts — continued; staff to assist with technical connection and bring the matter back on a later docket.

What the board said in closing: Chairperson Berry reiterated the board’s responsibility and the administrative steps that follow any vote. He reminded applicants that "Your cases were reviewed extensively by the board at a prescreen session held previous to this hearing" and that any tentative grants require clearance by the State Police Bureau of Identification before certificates are mailed.

The board closed the hearing after completing the docket.