| Dear Neighbor,
I wanted to update you on an important step we are taking to address the critical issue of domestic and family violence murders in our state. Today, I stood before the Connecticut Sentencing Commission to advocate for creating a subcommittee to study sentencing and outcomes for these tragic cases.
Between 2000 and 2023, Connecticut experienced 336 incidents of intimate partner and family violence murders, with a heartbreaking 87% of the victims being women. On average, our state sees 14 intimate partner killings each year, and the brutality of these crimes has only intensified. Alarmingly, 40% of these murders involve firearms, while 60% involve knives, strangulation, blunt force trauma, or arson.
Despite assurances that perpetrators will face the fullest extent of the law, our current legal system often results in these violent offenders receiving significantly reduced sentences through plea bargains. In 2014, plea deals were accepted in 77% of intimate partner killings, and by 2016, all sentences were the result of plea deals. The average length of these sentences was 75% lower than those from jury convictions.
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