HARTFORD – The ACLU of Connecticut announced today that the Smart Justice advocacy campaign in Connecticut is coming to a close. The ACLU’s Campaign for Smart Justice has played a leading role in building an unprecedented nationwide movement to end mass incarceration. In Connecticut, the Smart Justice campaign has been active since 2018. ACLU of CT Smart Justice advocated for government transparency and accountability in the criminal legal system and an end to mass incarceration and inhumane prison conditions in Connecticut’s jails and prisons, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic and the harmful use of solitary confinement. Among its many accomplishments, the campaign helped to secure:
- The first-in-the-nation mandating data collection and public reporting on prosecutorial decision-making;
- Creation of the Council on the Collateral Consequences of Criminal Records in 2019;
- Passage of a sweeping police accountability bill in 2020 and the creation of the Inspector General role to investigate police use of deadly force;
- “Parking lot advocacy” during the 2021 virtual legislative session to support passage of a then-landmark Clean Slate bill;
- Advocacy to end discrimination in occupational licensing and housing access, deceptive police interrogation tactics, and ensure voting rights; and
- Support for plaintiffs in cases involving police or correctional officer violence, including the 2022 case of Jayson Negron and Richardson v. Semple following the killing of J’Allen Jones.
Smart Justice Leaders have been highly visible, vocal, and effective advocates at the Capitol, testifying on scores of bills and lending invaluable lived experience to policy conversations around the criminal legal system. Smart Justice consistently uplifted the voices of people and families directly impacted by mass incarceration, guided by the belief that everyone has a role to play in creating a more just system.
While this chapter is ending, it marks a powerful transition. Smart Justice has built a strong foundation — one that has changed what is possible in Connecticut. Now, the ACLU of Connecticut is charting a new course: honoring this legacy while advancing criminal legal reform through innovative strategies, advocacy, and partnerships.
"Smart Justice fundamentally changed how we do advocacy, not just at the ACLU of Connecticut but at the Capitol as a whole. It redefined what it means to center directly impacted people in the fight for systemic change. Legislators came to rely on our Smart Justice leaders not just for policy insights but for unfiltered truth about the real-life consequences of laws and practices.” said David McGuire, ACLU of CT Executive Director. “Because of this work, Connecticut now has an Inspector General, increased police transparency, and a nation-leading prosecutorial transparency law. These structural wins would not have happened without Smart Justice. Every person who was part of this campaign should feel proud. The campaign did not just make history, it changed the way advocacy gets done in this state. The ACLU of Connecticut remains deeply committed to this model of change, and we will continue to fight for justice and accountability in the criminal legal system at the legislature."
“Smart Justice has set the standard for decarceral advocacy in Connecticut and beyond,” said Chelsea-Infinity Gonzalez, ACLU of CT Public Policy and Advocacy Director. “Sunsetting this campaign isn’t the end of its influence. ACLUs nationwide are evolving strategies for the time and place we find ourselves in now. Our public policy and advocacy work is inextricably linked to Smart Justice, and we are better for it. Racial justice remains our foundation, and we look forward to continuing the important work of these leaders. In Connecticut, Smart Justice has come to mean government and police accountability, prosecutorial transparency, and an unshakable commitment to our core values. These leaders have changed laws, minds, and futures. We’re deeply grateful for all they’ve done.”
“For me, this work has been about saving lives,” said Terri Ricks, an ACLU of CT Smart Justice Leader since 2019. “For those of us who have had to contend with the harm of the criminal legal system our entire lives, this goes a long way to validating our experiences. And we’ve had important victories. Because of the work we have all been part of, people who never felt that anything happening at the Capitol related to them were able to use their voice and to advocate for the issues that mattered most to them. And we’ve developed some amazing relationships with our legislators. That’s the real success of Smart Justice. The name might change, but the mission remains.”
“The best part of being a Smart Justice leader is getting to deliver our message to the people and the policymakers,” said Tracie Bernardi-Guzman, an ACLU of CT Smart Justice Leader since 2018. “We’ve been out front on housing and employment discrimination and standing up for people who are living with a criminal record. Smart Justice has been a leader in Connecticut because the campaign purposefully centered its work in the voices of people who have been through the system and understand better than anyone how it works — and more importantly how it fails and how it must be transformed. Even when I moved on from the campaign, seeing Smart Justice Leaders carry on the work at the Capitol made me feel so powerful. I don’t think you’ve seen the last of us.”
“People don’t realize how many families and communities — like every community — has justice impacted people,” said Lori LeDonne, an ACLU of CT Smart Justice Leader since 2022. “It’s your friends and neighbors that have had these devastating and dehumanizing experiences within the criminal legal system. Those experiences impact everything, from public health to housing to voting rights to economic mobility. I’m proud of the work we’ve done during this campaign, and I hope we’ve helped humanize policies and systems for lawmakers to understand that human rights in the criminal legal system sets the stage for everything else in society. When people think about Smart Justice, I hope they see the humanity and the care.”
“The skills we’ve built and the lives we’ve changed have meant a lot,” said William Roberts, an ACLU of CT Smart Justice Leader since 2019. “I have been able to teach my community how to get engaged in the civic and political process, and we’ve all made our voices heard — whether to members of the General Assembly or the Governor. The creation of the Inspector General’s office in the summer of 2020 was an important step forward for Smart Justice and for communities all over the state. And even when our bills don’t pass or laws are not implemented in the way they are supposed to, we continue to steer the conversation and keep talking about what needs to be done. Policymakers know that if Smart Justice focused on an issue, it’s a real issue that affects real people and demands action.”
“We are ending the campaign feeling strong about all that we have accomplished,” said Robin Ledbetter, an ACLU of CT Smart Justice Leader since 2024. “Everyone at the Capitol knows us, and they know that we’re focused on the real-life issues that people are facing. We have had meaningful discussions with our elected officials and people in power that have translated into actual laws and real shifts in how the criminal legal system treats people — with more dignity and humanity. I’m proud to have been a Smart Justice leader.”
“Smart Justice was a lifeline,” said Abraham Santiago, an ACLU of CT Smart Justice Leader since 2024. “A megaphone. A rebuke. A vision. It gave some of us our first taste of advocacy, and others their clearest shot at liberation work. And every step we took, we took together—as people who know firsthand the violence of the carceral state, and who refused to be silent about it.”
“I started my journey at ACLU of Connecticut on the Smart Justice team,” said Anderson Curtis, ACLU of CT Senior Policy Organizer. “And I’ve become a full-time lobbyist and advocate for racial justice, government accountability, and civil rights and liberties. We often go visit people who are incarcerated, to make sure the pretrial population and anyone else eligible is registered to vote and aware of election cycles. Enfranchising people that society has failed is why all of us do this work. I’m thankful for the Smart Justice campaign. It’s effective, recognizable, and we’ve had some huge wins since 2018.”
“Working closely with the Smart Justice leaders has been incredibly inspiring and rewarding for me,” said Gus Marks-Hamilton, ACLU of CT Campaign and Organizing Manager. “I’ve had a front row seat to watch the Smart Justice Leaders develop and hone their lobbying skills, from inside the halls of the Legislative Office Building to parking lot advocacy during the pandemic. They became the de facto spokespeople for policing and racial justice during a critical time in Connecticut and around the country. There have been so many Leaders over the years who have impacted and advanced this work. It’s hard work that is often thankless, but I could not be more grateful and fortunate to be alongside them. I am proud to have been part of this campaign and proud to carry on the mission.”
"I can't imagine this work without the ACLU Smart Justice team,” said Barbara Fair, Executive Director of Stop Solitary CT. “Many times I would have been standing alone in this fight if not for ACLU Smart Justice collaborations. They are knowledgeable, persistent, hardworking, and consistently visible in this fight for justice in Connecticut."
Smart Justice leaders will have a farewell event, and release of a retrospective video on ACLU of Connecticut’s social media channels. Press inquiries or other questions, please contact media@acluct.org.
