What is One Standard of Justice?
One Standard of Justice, Inc. is a volunteer-based, 501(c)(3) non-profit civil rights organization committed to ensuring that persons accused or convicted of sex offenses in Connecticut are treated constitutionally and fairly by the state before, during, and after their sentences. We believe that these persons ought to be accorded dignity and respect as human beings, no person belongs on a registry. They are entitled, like all other people with a criminal history, to be subjected only to penalties proportionate to the severity of their crimes, to be given second chances where warranted, and to have adequate opportunities for education, rehabilitation, housing, and employment. Communities are safer with rational laws and a focus on prevention of sexual harm and and the healing of all those affected by it.
While we advocate fairness for all people convicted of sexual crimes, we believe that the plight of those with nonviolent, non-predatory convictions demands especially urgent redress.
Motivated by these core beliefs, we see our missions as several:
- to educate the public and the state government about the people convicted of sexual crimes and their treatment by the legal system, dispelling common myths and prejudices in the process;
- to give voice to individuals’ experiences of unfair treatment;
- to litigate violations of the rights of people in the courts;
- to seek to amend state laws governing the sentencing and post-sentence registration of people with sexual offenses;
- to hold state agents accountable in the courts for any of their violations of the civil rights of these individuals
- to provide resources for persons registered or registrable in Connecticut and their families.
- and to bring alternatives to the criminal legal system into CT, in particular, restorative justice.
Because accurate facts are crucial to each of these missions, we also aim to provide a clearinghouse for legal and statistical information relating to sexual offending. While our advocacy prioritizes reform in Connecticut, we support the fair treatment of all people with sexual offense convictions throughout the United States, and elsewhere.