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Board of Pardons and Paroles reviews prescreen docket, grants multiple certificates of employability and pardons, denies several applications
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Summary
At its April 6, 2026 public session the Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles granted three certificates of employability and voted on a long expedited and prescreen docket, approving many pardon requests, scheduling numerous full hearings, and denying several petitions for reasons including public-safety concerns and incomplete offense details.
The Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles met April 6, 2026, in a public expedited prescreen session and moved through a lengthy certificate-of-employability and pardon docket, granting several immediate outcomes, scheduling multiple full hearings, and denying a number of petitions.
Chair Deborah Smith Palmeri opened the session and summarized the Board’s public process, including that an absolute pardon granted at the expedited hearing may take up to 10 weeks to be reflected in public records and that certificates of employability are mailed within about two weeks. Board members present were Sergio Rodriguez and Joy Chance.
On the certificate-of-employability docket the panel granted a COE to Deborah Brathwaite, Kirk Allen Donovan (with a no-contact-with-minors employment condition), and Gregory (name pronounced in the record; referred to here as Gregory per the transcript). Each motion carried with the support of the chair and both board members.
The panel then proceeded through an expedited pardon docket (cases that do not require victim notification). The board granted full and absolute pardons to multiple applicants whose files showed sustained post-conviction stability, completion of supervision or treatment, and supportive references. Examples discussed and granted during the expedited portion included Chad Fassett, Davin/Devin Vincent Foster, Tamara Pauline Kisic, Kevin Anthony Martinez, Orlando Nicholas Ocasio Marrero, Dion Booker, April Shelley, Kyle Ashley Waters, Joseph Paul Boland/Bolen, Jonathan Moroney, Matthew Veltong and others. In several cases the board explicitly cited long periods without reoffense, employment or education accomplishments, participation in recovery programs, and employer or community letters as reasons for granting pardons.
For other applicants the panel decided to schedule full pardon hearings to allow applicants to appear and answer questions about sobriety dates, completion of community service, or other outstanding issues. Examples of cases moved to a full pardon hearing included Lisa May Herb, Ryan Joseph Bernier, Robert Lance Barnum and many of the prescreen docket items where board members requested more detail about treatment, community engagement, or recent behavior.
The board denied a number of pardon applications after deliberation, citing reasons recorded on the public record such as minimizing responsibility, active protective orders, the presence of multiple victims, insufficient offense detail in the application, failure to complete required treatment, or that expungement would unduly diminish the seriousness of the underlying offenses. Notable denials recorded during the session included Marco Ventura Jr., Orlando Rivera, Shannon Elizabeth Byram Crosby, Ryan William Matulek, Jose Aponte, Jafari Jose Bugs, DeMar Sys Trunk and others; the chair read the denial reasons into the record when votes were taken.
Members repeatedly emphasized public-safety considerations when recommending denial. For cases advanced to full hearings the board said it wanted applicants to appear and to provide more complete information about sobriety, treatment participation, community service completion, or steps taken to address past harms.
The public session concluded after the panel completed the prescreen docket and confirmed a schedule for applicants who will come forward for full hearings.
Votes at a glance: the panel recorded motions and roll-call votes on each docket item (motions were made by Chair Deborah Smith Palmeri or as stated on the record and seconded/affirmed by the panel). Several dozen expedited pardons were granted during the session, several dozen prescreen applications were ordered to full hearings, and a number of pardons were denied for the reasons noted above. Individual case outcomes and any conditions or hearing scheduling were announced on the record for each applicant.
What happens next: applicants granted pardons or certificates of employability will be notified consistent with the board’s stated timelines; applicants scheduled for full hearings will appear at the board’s next docket when invited; those denied will be notified by email with reasons for denial.
The Board adjourned after completing the prescreen review docket for April 6, 2026.
