House Passes Bill to Examine Habeas Corpus Filings, Heads to Senate

HARTFORD – House Republican Leader Themis Klarides and State Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria applauded the bipartisan passage of House Bill 5407, An Act Establishing a Task Force to Promote Efficiencies in the Filing of Habeas Corpus Matters, on Tuesday.

The Klarides sisters introduced H.B. 5407, after seeing the problem first hand. The family of Joyce Stochmal, a young woman from Seymour who was murdered in 1984, did not receive notice from the Department of Criminal Justice that the defendant in their case had a viable habeas claim until very late in the process. In fact, the defendant in the case was released from prison last March through a sentence modification.

“It’s time for a major overhaul of the habeas corpus application system in Connecticut,” said Rep. Klarides. “Inmates are filing seemingly endless habeas corpus applications at the cost of taxpayers and victims. The Stochmal family and other families are not being well served by Connecticut’s criminal justice system. We need to improve the habeas corpus system and passing this bill will be the first step in that direction.”

Rep. Klarides-Ditria added, “I want to thank the Stochmal family for continuing to advocate for victims and their families. Victims’ families should come first and not notifying them of habeas corpus claims is unacceptable. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to pass this legislation.”

H.B. 5407 now awaits a vote by the Senate. The legislative session ends at midnight on Wednesday, May 9th.

Pictured – State Reps. Themis Klarides and Nicole Klarides-Ditria testify with Marianne Heffernan, the sister of Joyce Stochmal, in support of House Bill 5465 on March 28th in the Judiciary Committee.

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