Raghib Allie-Brennan

Emily Todd’s Story Continues to Shape My Work

View this email in your browser Dear Neighbors, Earlier this year, I shared that I had called for the creation of a subcommittee within the Connecticut Sentencing Commission to examine sentencing outcomes in domestic and intimate partner violence cases. That subcommittee is now deep into its work and I wanted to share an update. The subcommittee recently received over 20 years of court operations data covering murder and manslaughter convictions in Connecticut from 2002–2023. The data includes critical details like the gender and age of offenders, sentencing length, probation, plea deals, and whether a jury trial occurred. It will take time to clean and analyze this information fully, but early findings are already prompting important questions. I called for this subcommittee in the wake of the murder of Emily Todd, a 25-year-old Bethel native who was shot and killed in 2018 by someone she had dated. Emily was a vibrant, compassionate young woman who worked with seniors. Her murder devastated our community and exposed the urgent need to reexamine how Connecticut treats domestic and intimate partner violence in our criminal justice system. Since joining the legislature, I’ve been advocating for domestic/family violence-related homicides to be classified as Murder with Special Circumstance, a charge that allows for heightened sentencing since the repeal of the death penalty. Between 2010 and 2020, there were 49 cases that could have warranted this charge, but only four actually did. That discrepancy raises serious questions, and the subcommittee is preparing a memo exploring why prosecutors may not be bringing the elevated charge. Should we as a legislature mandate its use in domestic homicides? Should we remove discretion in these cases altogether? These are questions we need to confront. Connecticut is one of just seven states that does not have a separate criminal charge specifically labeled “domestic violence.” Establishing a distinct charge could significantly improve how we collect and analyze data, making it easier to identify disparities, track outcomes, and ultimately close the gaps in our system. The subcommittee will present its findings to the full Commission next month and continue its work through the summer. I look forward to joining them in presenting recommendations to the legislature this fall. Connecticut should not be an outlier when it comes to protecting victims and holding offenders accountable. More updates to come! Sincerely, Raghib Allie-Brennan State Representative Forward to a friend | Unsubscribe from this list | Update subscription preferences