Victim urges tighter exemptions to Vermont ‘good time’ rule as committee hears H.252 testimony

Tammy Carboni, a resident who said she lost her husband in 2016, told the House Corrections & Institutions Committee on Thursday that she supports earned-time programs in principle but wants the 2021 blanket "good time earned" law narrowed with added exemptions.

Carboni described how security-camera footage and later testimony showed the man later convicted in her husband’s death was responsible, and said she was stunned to learn he qualified for the law’s 25% sentence reduction because his charges were not among the later-added exemptions. "My husband's death was 100% 100% preventable," Carboni said during her testimony, describing long-term emotional and financial impacts.

The testimony centered on H.252, a bill Rep. Chris Pritchard said he drafted at Carboni’s request. Pritchard introduced Carboni to the committee and provided binders documenting her case. Carboni reviewed the assailant’s record in the binders, saying he had "33 misdemeanors and nine felonies" and was sentenced July 27, 2018, to a term described in the hearing as "19 to life." She said the defendant had previously been stopped by local law enforcement and that family members initially offered misleading accounts until camera footage identified the true circumstances.

Committee members asked Carboni about victim-notification systems. Carboni said she had opted into the DOC’s VINE (victim notification) system but found notices routed to spam and delayed; she urged the agency to add text-message alerts. "I get an email, and it went into my spam file and I got it weeks and weeks and weeks later," she said. Committee members said the panel has been working to make victim notification more user-friendly.

Members pressed for details about the offender’s sentence, earned days, and pre-sentence confinement; Carboni said the defendant served roughly two-and-a-half years before sentencing and that calculating earned time required navigating the DOC release-date information. She told members she feared for her safety if the person were released, saying he had threatened her while incarcerated.

Several committee members expressed sympathy and committed to review Carboni’s documentation. Rep. Pritchard confirmed he had signed onto H.252 and said he would continue to engage with Carboni about possible language changes. "I signed on the bill because it's not surprising where you're coming from," he said.

Near the end of the session, a committee member identified in the transcript as Kevin moved that the committee vote on H.252, saying there was insufficient data to justify the current policy and expressing frustration with delay. "I'm actually going to just say that we move to ... vote on H.252," Kevin said. The motion received no second and members debated whether to act now given the legislative calendar and the need for more testimony. Chair Emmons ultimately called a recess and posted the meeting for lunch without a committee vote.

The hearing did not produce a formal committee vote or amendment to H.252. Committee members and Carboni continued to discuss options such as carving out additional exemptions for habitual offenders or people with multiple felonies, and several members encouraged Carboni to stay engaged with staff and advocates as language is refined.

The committee recessed without taking final action on H.252; no vote tally was recorded at the meeting.