Stafford v. Commissioner of Correction

Citations

• 207 Conn. App. 85

Syllabus

The petitioner, who had been convicted, in two cases, of the crime of felony murder on a plea of guilty in each case, sought a writ of habeas corpus, claiming, inter alia, that the respondent Commissioner of Correction and the Board of Pardons and Paroles improperly determined that he was not parole eligible. On the first count of felony murder, which was alleged to have been committed on June 30 or July 1, 1981, the petitioner was sentenced to an indefinite term of incarceration of not less than twenty-five years nor more than life pursuant to statute ((Rev. to 1981) § 53a-35). On the second count of felony murder, which was alleged to have been committed on August 16, 1981, the petitioner was sentenced to a definite term of incarceration of fifty-five years pursuant to statute ((Rev. to 1981) § 53a-35a). The trial court ordered the sentences to run concurrently. The petitioner had served the entire length of his definite sentence of fifty-five years, as reduced by credits he had earned while incarcerated, by May 28, 2014. He then sought a parole eligibility date for his indeterminate sentence but was told that he was not eligible for parole because his determinate sentence, which he had fully served, was not a parole eligible offense. At his habeas trial, however, S, the executive director of the board, testified that the petitioner was parole eligible. Thereafter, the habeas court dismissed the petition, concluding that it lacked jurisdiction because the petitioner failed to state a claim involving the deprivation of a recognized liberty interest and that the issue of obtaining a parole eligibility determination was moot in light of S's testimony that the board had found the petitioner to be eligible for parole but declined to grant him a hearing. The court thereafter granted the petitioner certification to appeal, and the petitioner appealed to this court. On appeal, the respondent conceded that the petitioner was eligible for parole. Held: 1. This court had jur