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Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles grants multiple absolute pardons in Jan. 13 session
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Summary
At its Jan. 13, 2026 Zoom session the Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles heard a long docket of applicants and granted absolute pardons to the individuals who appeared after brief questioning and unanimous voice votes; one case was continued and the board stressed that grants are tentative pending record checks.
HARTFORD — The Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles held an absolute-pardon session by videoconference on Jan. 13, 2026, hearing a long docket of applicants and voting to grant absolute pardons to the people who appeared.
Officer Furtado, the hearing coordinator, opened the session and reviewed procedural requirements, including the need for applicants to disclose any new arrests and that grants are “tentative” until the Connecticut State Police Bureau of Identification completes record checks and confirms erasure of public records. Chair Jennifer Medina Zaccagnini told applicants the board considers the seriousness of the original offense, victim impact, time elapsed and “any and all efforts the applicant has made to become a productive contributing member of his or her community.”
Most applicants offered brief statements that they had taken responsibility for past conduct and described rehabilitation efforts such as sobriety, counseling, vocational training, steady employment and volunteer work. Board members asked focused follow-up questions — commonly about sobriety, programming completed, victim contact and current family or employment status — before formal votes. The board typically handled each case with a motion by the chair (or presiding member) and a voice vote in which the three board members present recorded “aye.”
Office of Victim Services provided input in a subset of cases; on at least one file its representative said a victim was not opposed to a pardon but the board continued to explore victim impact where appropriate before voting. One applicant (Obadiah Muhammad) requested a continuance for legal representation and the board continued that matter at the applicant’s request.
Chair Zaccagnini and the two fellow members identified in the hearing — Deborah Smith Palmeri and Alex Zarkoff — made or seconded motions and recorded votes. The board reminded applicants that, even after a grant, it may take up to 10 weeks for records to be cleared and for a certificate of pardon to be mailed; applicants were advised not to assert their record has been erased until they receive that certificate.
The session included a mix of long-ago convictions and more recent offenses. For many applicants, board members cited program completion (anger‑management, domestic‑violence or substance‑abuse programming), steady employment, family responsibilities and community service as reasons supporting a pardon. Several attorneys and interpreters assisted applicants; translators introduced some applicants’ names for the record.
The board recessed for 10 minutes mid-docket and returned to complete the remaining hearings; it adjourned at the close of the docket. A full listing of individual case outcomes will be posted on the board’s website per the coordinator’s instructions.
The board’s next procedural steps for grant recipients are completion of state police checks and issuance of certificates by mail; applicants are to receive an email within one week with decisions and the board will post results to its website within 48 hours.
