The Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles has the power to commute – reduce – the sentence of people who are incarcerated.
Since the end of 2021, Attorney Alex Taubes has represented 18 individuals who have received commutations from the Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Before Attorney Taubes’s involvement, commutations had not been seen very often. Connecticut saw only five commutations from 2016 to 2019, and none in 2020. Attorney Taubes spoke out on the issue, saying, “the board has the power under the law, under its discretion, to commute everyone’s sentence” (NH Register)
In 2021, the Board resumed the process of commutations. Since the revival of the hearings, Attorney Taubes has already represented 18 individuals who have received a reduction of their prison sentences, including Michael Cox, who received a 30-year commutation of his 75-year prison sentence in December 2021 (NPR, NY Times). Attorney Taubes’s clients had been convicted of murder, felony murder, manslaughter, attempted murder, and arson and received long prison sentences.
Attorney Taubes firmly believes everyone deserves a second chance and hope, and then makes it happen for so many. Each client has gone through the steps of rehabilitation and undoubtedly deserves a second chance to be with their families and to be an active member of their respective communities.
