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This week, the Judiciary Committee raised legislation I introduced to improve how Connecticut tracks and reports domestic violence cases.
This bill is personal.
I grew up in Bethel with Emily Todd. When Emily was murdered in a domestic violence incident, our entire community was shaken. Her mother, Jenn Lawlor, has since become a tireless advocate for accountability and reform.
As I’ve worked on domestic violence policy over the years, and especially through the Sentencing Commission subcommittee I helped create in 2024 to study domestic-violence-related homicides, one issue kept surfacing:
We do not consistently track domestic violence cases from arrest through prosecution and sentencing in a way that allows us to clearly evaluate outcomes.
That matters.
If we can’t clearly see how cases move through the system, including how charges are resolved or whether sentencing is consistent, we can’t honestly say whether justice is being applied equitably.
So this bill does something simple but important:
It creates a uniform way to identify and track domestic violence cases across agencies for reporting and oversight purposes.
Let me be very clear about what it does not do:
- It does not create a new crime.
- It does not change penalties or sentencing laws.
- It does not modify family violence procedures or victim services.
This is not about increasing punishment.
It’s about increasing transparency.
Before we debate policy changes, we need accurate, connected data to guide those decisions. Families like Jenn’s deserve proof, not promises, that the system treats every victim’s life with equal seriousness.
Data is not political. It is foundational to informed policy and public trust.
The bill will now move to a public hearing before the Judiciary Committee, where advocates, agencies, and members of the public will have the opportunity to weigh in.
Emily’s life mattered. And honoring that means ensuring our system measures itself honestly.
As always, I welcome your thoughts.
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