Tag: connecticut

Connecticut House Passes Psilocybin Decriminalization Bill To Remove Threat Of Jail For Possessing The Psychedelic

The Connecticut House of Representatives has approved a bill to decriminalize psilocybin for adults—despite lingering questions about whether the state’s Democratic governor would support it after he rejected an earlier version of the reform measure.

One month after the measure cleared the legislature’s Joint Judiciary Committee, it cleared the full chamber in a 74-65 vote on Monday. It now heads to the Senate for consideration.

If enacted into law, the legislation would make possession of up to one-half an ounce of psilocybin punishable by a $150 fine, without the threat of jail time.

“Psilocybin is a product which has been shown to be an effective therapeutic for various mental illnesses, including treating PTSD, addictions, depressions and anxiety disorders,” Rep. Steve Stafstrom (D), co-chair of the Judiciary Committee, said on the floor. “It is a substance that our state currently treats as the equivalent of cocaine, heroin or any other sort of serious Schedule I drug that, if folks are caught with possession of even a tiny little bit, Mr. Speaker, even even personal use of psilocybin, they’d be essentially subject to a class A misdemeanor and up to a year in jail.”

“What this bill seeks to do is pretty simple. It doesn’t legalize the substance. I want to be really clear: This bill does not legalize psilocybin,” he said. “If you’re dealing psilocybin, if you’re driving under the influence of psilocybin, those penalties remain the same as they are under existing law. Driving under the influence of psilocybin, it’s driving under the influence. No change in this bill. Dealing psilocybin continues to be drug dealer offense. You can be prosecuted for drug dealing—that does not change.”

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‘Cannibal’ killer warning signs exposed in new report with release plan already in motion

New prison documents show that Tyree Smith, who has been dubbed the “Connecticut Cannibal,” exhibited violent behavior behind bars and was a “serious threat to life” in prison before he was granted release, according to a news report.

Smith confessed to the 2011 killing of a homeless man, Angel Gonzalez, in Connecticut, and he admitted to eating the victim’s body parts in a cemetery.

In 2013, a three-judge panel found Smith not guilty by reason of insanity in the death of Gonzalez. However, he was committed to Connecticut Valley Hospital for 60 years.

Smith was granted a conditional release by the Nutmeg State’s Psychiatric Security Review Board in February 2025, which allows him to leave Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown. However, Smith will remain under supervision and will continue to receive mental health services, according to WTNH.

For months, Smith has been staying full-time at a community facility with strict conditions, treatment and around-the-clock supervision, CBS News reported after the release from the hospital was granted.

Smith’s doctor said the cannibal killer has been rehabilitated and is taking medications to help with psychosis and voices in his head, WTNH reported.

“To quote the director there, he is a joy. He is considered a support to the other people there,” forensic psychiatrist Caren Teitelbaum said. “Once he was stable, he was a really calming presence for other patients.”

“He has maintained clinical stability. Adhered to the medications and continued to engage in group and substance abuse treatment,” Teitelbaum added. “He also denied visual hallucinations and a desire to harm others or himself.”

However, new prison documents obtained by WTNH from the Connecticut Department of Correction suggest otherwise.

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CT GOP Lawmakers Alert AG Pam Bondi After 150 ELECTION FRAUD CHARGES FILED in Bridgeport Democrat Ballot Stuffing Case – Suggest Coordinated, Statewide Voter Fraud Efforts

The Democrat voter fraud machine in Connecticut is crumbling under the weight of its own corruption after five Democrat operatives were indicted on voter fraud charges related to mail-in ballots in the 2023 mayoral primary in February.

And this week CT GOP lawmakers sent a letter to AG Pam Bondi to investigate the fraud and to see if the “election crimes in Bridgeport are part of a larger, coordinated effort to defraud voters statewide.”

Dozens of pages of arrest warrant affidavits, made public in February, outline the disturbing allegations against Councilwoman Maria Pereira, Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee Vice Chair Wanda Geter-Pataky, City Councilman Alfredo Castillo, Councilwoman Jazmarie Melendez, and Stratford resident Margaret Joyce, according to Connecticut Post.

  • Wanda Geter-Pataky: Vice Chairperson of the Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee, facing 92 separate criminal charges, including conspiracy to unlawfully possess multiple voters’ absentee ballots.
  • Alfredo Castillo: City Council Member, charged with multiple counts of misrepresenting eligibility requirements for absentee voting and unlawful possession of ballots.
  • Maria Pereira: City Council Member, facing charges of fraudulent voting and being present during the execution of absentee ballots.
  • Jazmarie Melendez: City Council Member, charged with misrepresenting eligibility requirements for absentee voting.
  • Margaret Joyce: Stratford resident and campaign staffer, accused of unlawfully possessing absentee ballots.

These indictments stem from a comprehensive investigation into allegations of widespread absentee ballot tampering during the contentious 2023 Democrat mayoral primary between incumbent Mayor Joe Ganim and challenger John Gomes. Geter-Pataky and Castillo were supporters of Ganim, whereas Pereira and Melendez endorsed Gomes.

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Bridgeport Dem Arrested On Election Charges Says He Was Just “Following The Orders Of The Democratic Party”

Last week, five members of the Democrat Party in Connecticut were arrested on a variety of election charges, including Wanda “the ballot stuffer” Pataky, along with Bridgeport City Council members Alfredo Castillo, Maria Pereira, and Jazmarie Melendez, and campaign staffer Margaret Joyce.

In a statement Friday afternoon, Chief State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin said the charges were connected to “the misuse of absentee ballots” during Bridgeport Mayor Joseph Ganim’s campaign for re-election in 2023.

In response to his arrest, according to Only in Bridgeport, Castillo said he was “pissed off and frustrated” that he had to “go through this” because he had been told Ganim would lose “if we don’t get out the vote.”

Castillo then specifically accused Governor Ned Lamont, Sen. Richard “Danang Dick” Blumenthal, Sen. Chris Murphy, and Congressman Jim Himes of directly benefitting off the illegal actions which resulted in increased turnout in Bridgeport.

Castillo further claimed he was innocent and just “following the orders of the Democratic Party.”

“This is what they tell us to do, get out the vote. Then we get criminalized,” Castillo said. “Our job is to get out the vote. We’re loyal. Always the foot soldiers get whacked and then everyone benefits –  Ganim, Lamont, Blumenthal, Murphy, Himes. Then it’s thank you, we’ll see you in four years.”

Bridgeport election results did show a higher percentage of democrat votes than the state average for 2024, with around 75% of votes going to Murphy and Himes in Bridgeport, as compared to around 60% for those candidates at the state level.

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Former Connecticut high school student sues teachers for letting her graduate while unable to read or write

A former Connecticut high school student is suing her teachers for letting her graduate while she was unable to read or write due to her learning disability. 

Aleysha Ortiz, 19, is seeking $3 million in damages from staff at Hartford Public Schools district for alleged bullying, harassment and/or negligence. 

Ortiz claims she requested educational resources and support for years – but her special education teacher instead chose to yell at and humiliate her in front of other students, often bringing her to tears. 

The teenager graduated unable to read or write. She struggled to even spell her own name during an emotional interview about her education with ABC affiliate WTNH.

‘My time in Hartford Public Schools was a time that I don’t wish upon anyone,’ Ortiz told the outlet. 

When Ortiz moved from Puerto Rico to Connecticut in first grade, she struggled with a language barrier compounded by a speech impediment, dyslexia, and ADHD. 

‘Every first day of school, I would tell the teacher I cannot read and write so please be patient for me, so everyone knew,’ she told WTNH. 

‘I would cry knowing the people who had big titles knew this was happening, and no one stepped up to do something about it.’ 

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Cannibal Who Killed Man with an Axe and Ate His Brain and Eyeball Has Been Granted Conditional Release in Connecticut

A cannibal in Connecticut has been granted conditional release from a psychiatric hospital after brutally killing a man with an axe, eating one of his eyeballs, and part of his brain.

Tyree Smith had been found “Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity” in 2013 and sent to Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown for “up to 60 years” for the murder and cannibalism of 43-year-old Angel Gonzalez.

Smith was diagnosed with schizophrenia and had been abusing drugs and alcohol at the time of the murder.

The Hartford Courant reports:

Gonzalez’s decomposed body was found in an abandoned building on Brooks Street in Bridgeport on Jan. 20, 2012. He had suffered severe wounds to his face and head.

Three days later, Smith’s cousin, Nicole Rabb, told police Smith arrived at her house in mid-December and said he had “to get blood on his hands,” the arrest warrant affidavit, according to Courant archives. He was going to Beardsley Park and his former home on Brooks Street, the Courant reported. The next day he returned with blood on his pants and carrying an ax saying he wanted to take a bath.

Rabb said Smith told her he was sleeping on the second-floor porch of 216 Brooks St. when a man invited him to the third floor to get out of the cold, archives said. Smith said he then beat the man with the ax so severely that he was able to remove an eye from the man’s head along with pieces of brain matter and a piece of his skull, the Courant reported.

According to previous Courant reports, Smith then went to Lakeview Cemetery, where he said “he ate the eyeball, which tasted like an oyster, and the brain matter,” according to the warrant affidavit.

The Connecticut Psychiatric Security Review Board issued the decision to allow Smith’s release on Friday.

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Report: Connecticut Democrats Spent $1.3 Billion on Migrants

Connecticut Democrats have spent $1.3 billion in taxpayer funds on illegal migrants, or almost $340 for each of the 3.68 million people in the state, according to a new study.

Democrat Governor Ned Lamont has disputed the report by the conservative Yankee Institute, but the organization’s President, Carol Platt Liebau, has noted that her organization has cited the accounting of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which found that the Nutmeg State has supported about 225,000 illegal migrants of all ages incurring costs for medical care, in-state tuition and education, incarceration, and welfare payments.

“We welcome the opportunity to discuss with the Governor other ways to save taxpayer dollars,” Liebau said on the Yankee Institute’s website. “After all, $1.3 billion is a significant sum, and as he knows, some families who are here legally and some of our state’s businesses are struggling, and could certainly benefit from those resources.”

A group of state Senators released a statement noting how appalled they are at the spending.

“$1.3 billion with a ‘B.’ Does Gov. Lamont find that statistic absolutely shocking as we do?” said Republican Senators Rob Sampson, Eric Berthel, and Stephen Harding, adding:

What is he doing to analyze and reduce that number? These are common sense questions, but Gov. Lamont is already on record stating that all illegal aliens are ‘welcome’ in Connecticut. Even the most violent. So, overburdened taxpayers here in deep blue Connecticut will continue to fork over $1.3 billion annually as long as Democrats are in charge at the State Capitol.

GOP senators also wondered why Lamont is dedicating so many tax dollars to helping illegal migrants have access to legal advice, buy cars, and even start businesses and get home loans.

The state’s Republican Party also blasted Gov. Lamont’s spending on migrants, and said that taking $1.3 billion away from solving state issues is a disservice to legal citizens, especially while legal citizens are falling behind.

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Governor Lamont Proposes Universal Preschool, “Seeded By $300M From The Fiscal Year 2025 Surplus”

Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he is urging the Connecticut General Assembly to approve legislation he is proposing this session that would implement universal preschool.

“I want Connecticut to lead on early childhood education, and that means making preschool affordable and accessible for all of our kids,” Governor Lamont said. “Access to early childhood services is massively important to the state’s success, not only because these programs provide valuable tools for children that will lead them to professional achievements in the future, but also because being able to enroll your child in care right now means that parents can join the workforce and earn an income that supports their family. Connecticut has an opportunity to make an investment in our future by expanding access to affordable preschool.”

The governor’s proposal includes depositing a portion of the state’s anticipated surpluses over the next several years into a brand-new fund known as the Universal Preschool Endowment. The endowment would be seeded by $300 million from the fiscal year 2025 surplus, and in the following years any unappropriated surpluses from the General Fund will continue to be transferred into it. The endowment will be managed by the Office of the Treasurer, and the commissioner of the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood may expend up to 10% of the balance of the endowment in any fiscal year.

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Speaking Of Lawfare… CT AG Tong And Blue State AG Coalition Sue To Stop Cost-Cutting Efforts At HHS And NIH, Including $35M From UCONN

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and 21 other attorneys general today sued the Trump Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) over new guidance on indirect costs (e.g., depreciation, interest on debt, general administrative expenses) at universities and research institutions across the country that would bring such costs in line with market rates.

Pursuant to the new guidance, there will be a standard cost rate of 15% across all NIH grants for indirect costs in lieu of a separately negotiated rate for indirect costs in every grant.

Per NIH, it is “obligated to carefully steward grant awards to ensure taxpayer dollars are used in ways that benefit the American people and improve their quality of life.  Indirect costs are, by their very nature, ‘not readily assignable to the cost objectives specifically benefitted’ and are therefore difficult for NIH to oversee.”

The indirect cost rate reported by NIH has averaged between 27% and 28% over time. And many organizations are much higher—charging indirect rates of over 50% and in some cases over 60%.

Most private foundations that fund research provide substantially lower indirect costs than the federal government, and universities readily accept grants from these foundations.  

For example, a recent study found that the most common rate of indirect rate reimbursement by foundations was 0%, meaning many foundations do not fund indirect costs whatsoever.  In addition, many of the nation’s largest funders of research—such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation—have a maximum indirect rate of 15%.  And in the case of the Gates Foundation, the maximum indirect costs rate is 10% for institutions of higher education.

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VOTER FRAUD: Connecticut State Employee Arrested for Changing Republican Voter Registrations to Democrats

A Connecticut state employee, Arlanda Brantley, has been charged with altering Republican voter registrations to Democrat.

This manipulation took place during a voter registration event at the Western Connecticut Mental Health Network in Torrington on September 17, 2024.

The Torrington Police Department initiated an investigation after discovering discrepancies in voter registration cards submitted post-event.

It was revealed that Brantley, a 57-year-old employee at the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, had changed the party affiliation on the cards from “No” or “Republican” to “Democrat” without the knowledge or consent of the individuals concerned, WSFB reported.

This fraudulent activity was detected during a routine inspection by the office of the Registrar of Voter’s Clerk in Torrington.

Following a comprehensive investigation by the State of Elections Enforcement Commission and local authorities, Brantley turned herself in on January 27.

She faces multiple charges, including five counts of Fraudulent Registration and five counts of Primary or Enrollment Violations.

After posting a $10,000 surety bond, Brantley was released and is scheduled to appear at Torrington Superior Court on February 10.

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