State legislators narrowly approved the controversial nomination Thursday of a parole board member who was ousted by the governor as board chairman after a surge in prison commutations.

The state House of Representatives voted 79 to 67 to allow Carleton J. Giles of Milford to remain on the Board of Pardons and Paroles, even though he will no longer be the powerful chairman. Republicans were joined by 15 Democrats against the nomination, including four deputy House Speakers and the two leaders of the moderate House Democratic caucus, Rep. Kerry Wood of Rocky Hill and Patrick Boyd of Pomfret.

Giles’s tenure led to an uproar at the state Capitol when legislators learned that 71 inmates had their sentences reduced last year, including 44 convicted of murder. That total compared to a relative handful of annual commutations in previous years.

Republicans blasted Giles for the policy change, while some Democrats argued that Giles was simply doing his job under authority that was granted by the legislature for the board to set its own policies and procedures.

Amid the firestorm, the board recently halted all commutations as legislators and state officials are currently discussing the best way to establish a new commutation policy. The board halted the commutations after Giles was replaced by a new chairwoman, Jennifer Zaccagnini.

Lamont allowed Giles to remain on the board, and the state Senate approved him for a new, four-year term by a 21-14 vote with two Democrats breaking with their party and voting against Giles.

Despite the criticism, Democrats strongly defended Giles and voted Thursday to keep him on the board. Giles had testified that he did not tell any members of the judiciary committee in advance of the policy change and did not request a vote on the policy by the full board.

Rep. Steven Stafstrom, a Bridgeport Democrat who co-chairs the judiciary committee, said Giles had a “long and distinguished career in law enforcement” as a Norwalk police officer and then became senior pastor at a Baptist church in Milford. Stafstrom said he thought that Giles should have favored releasing elderly, ill prisoners during the COVID-19 pandemic under the compassionate release provisions so that they would not have their health threatened by the spreading pandemic. Giles “was not nearly as liberal as I would have liked him to have been,” Stafstrom said.

The controversy over the commutations was “one decision Mr. Giles made in his entire 10-year tenure,” Stafstrom said.

Noting that fewer than 25% of commutation applications were accepted, Stafstrom said that times had changed and the board decided to “take those extensive sentences of the 1990s and right-size them.”

“He is not some runaway liberal activist,” Stafstrom said, adding there were instances where Giles “has not gone far enough.”

After a recent meeting among the stakeholders, Stafstrom says there was a “general consensus of some tweaks” that can include waiting until a hearing is scheduled before notifying victims because some applications are summarily dismissed before a hearing.

But Rep. Larry B. Butler, a Waterbury Democrat whose brother was murdered more than 35 years ago, opposed Giles in the same way that he voted against some other board members. He said those who committed murders at the age of 19 or 25, for example, should not be given special consideration.

“People convicted of murder should do their time,” Butler told his colleagues. “If somebody killed your loved one, does it matter what age they were? … Can we not do something for the victims’ families? … There are families of victims out there who are in so much pain.”

He said he was keenly aware of Giles having a distinguished resume.

“I really like this man. He’s not just a good man. He’s a really good man,” Butler said of Giles. “But this is not about Carleton Giles the person. This is about his decisions on this board.”

State Rep. Craig Fishbein, the ranking House Republican on the judiciary committee who voted against the nomination, said that he would have supported Giles two years ago — before the controversy.

“I love him as a person,” Fishbein said on the House floor. “I do not prescribe to the policy or idea that the board of pardons and paroles has the unfettered right to do this. … Part of the problem is that unchecked power was never even run by the board. … It just happened. That is wrong.”

Fishbein said he rejects the notion that the unelected chairman is “more powerful than the governor” on parole issues.

Rep. Tom O’Dea, a New Canaan attorney who voted against Giles, said he was surprised that the numbers skyrocketed last year to 71 commutations.

“That’s a massive change as to who is eligible,” O’Dea said on the House floor. “There were a lot of victims who, when they found out about this, were very upset. … It’s quite obvious the full board should have voted on this.”

Rep. Greg Howard, a Republican lawmaker who has also worked as a police officer for the past 21 years in Stonington, said victims “have lived through unthinkable tragedy” and some are still suffering today by reliving the tragedy.

“Their government failed them,” Howard said of the victims. “It was wrong to those families. It was wrong to those victims. … Voting for him today would be equally as wrong.”

But Rep. Andre Baker, a Bridgeport Democrat, said he has known Giles for more than 25 years and has seen his role as a mediator for families who helps youths to “stay on track” and improve their lives.

Rather than looking at the policy, Baker said, “We should be looking at the person and their qualifications. … I hope everybody will look at the person and not the policy.”

Likewise, Rep. Frank Smith, a Milford Democrat, told colleagues that Giles is among the most admired and respected residents of his hometown of Milford. He said Giles “is by no means a starry-eyed radical” who wants to release violent criminals from prison.

“He’s someone who feels very deeply about justice,” Smith said. “I urge my colleagues to look at the man and make separate peace with the policies.”

Rep. Steve Weir, a Hebron Republican, recalled that he was home watching the Daytona 500 car race years ago when he learned that his now-wife’s mother had been murdered when shot to death. His wife, Allegra, has received two notifications about potential commutations, but the convicted killer is still behind bars, he said.

“In this case, it’s a lack of judgement,” Weir said of Giles. “A great man, showing poor judgement.”

Rep. Gary Turco, a Newington Democrat who opposed Giles, mentioned the case of Audrey Carlson, whose daughter, Elizabeth, was shot and killed in her home by an ex-boyfriend who was sentenced to 42 years and is still currently in prison.

Turco said his “no” vote was designed to “send a message” to other board members that they should not make major changes without legislative input.

“The change in this policy allowed him to be eligible,” Turco said on the House floor. “This was not an individual under the age of 25. He was able to apply, and he was denied during the pre-screening process. The Carlson family was told that he could reapply every three years — that they would be put through this stress every three years.”

Rep. Holly Cheeseman, a Republican, said a woman in her district was stabbed 47 times, and the killer was sentenced to 40 years.

“We owe it to all the victims who the term restorative justice is meaningless,” Cheeseman said in an emotional speech to her colleagues. “They don’t get a second chance. We have to be their voice and send a message that they matter.”

But some Democrats and advocates say that Giles has been scapegoated and blamed unnecessarily on an issue that has become a flashpoint at the Capitol.

“Unfortunately, Mr. Giles is being criticized for doing his job,” Stafstrom told Capitol reporters Thursday. “There seems to be this implication that Mr. Giles is this runaway liberal, that he is out there creating policy whole cloth to allow a whole bunch of individuals out of incarceration. That’s not been my experience with him. In fact, there are some out there who claim this commutation policy doesn’t go far enough.”

Stafstrom said he did not know in advance about the controversial policy change but said that was not unusual.

“The policy was not communicated to the leadership of the judiciary committee,” Stafstrom told Capitol reporters. “I don’t get notified every time the Department of Correction changes a policy. I don’t get notified every time the judicial branch changes a policy.”

In sharp contrast to the Giles clash, the House also approved other nominees on the “consent calendar.’ On a bipartisan basis, the House approved the nominations of Neville A. Brooks of East Hartford and Sergio Rodriguez of New Haven for spots on the parole board, along with the re-nominations of Rufaro B. Page of Naugatuck and Joy Chance of Bloomfield.

“These individuals have had nothing to do with the commutations we’ve heard about over the last few months,” Fishbein said.

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com