Today's Hartford Courant reports, "Senators Withdraw Support For Death Penalty Repeal." It's written by Daniela Altimari.
The drive to abolish the death penalty in Connecticut suffered a potentially fatal blow Wednesday when two state senators announced they will no longer support the effort.
Sen. Edith Prague, a Democrat from Columbia, said she made her decision after meeting with Dr. William Petit, the sole survivor of a home invasion in which his wife and two daughters were killed. One of the men convicted in the case, Steven Hayes, has been sentenced to death; jury selection is underway in the trial of a second defendant, Joshua Komisarjevsky.
"I don't care what anybody says,'' Prague said. "I want to give this man a little ounce of consideration here and that's my reason at this point in time to not support repeal. I have to live with myself. ... I could not for one second cause this family any more stress.''
Sen. Andrew Maynard, a Democrat from Stonington, told abolition advocates that he, too, could no longer back the bill.
Supporters of the repeal movement knew the bill would be close in the Senate but had expressed cautious optimism that this would be their year. Late Wednesday night they conceded defeat.
"When the vote is this close and one thing changes, things can come crashing down,'' Ben Jones, executive director of the Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty, said late Wednesday night.
The legislature had passed a bill eliminating the death penalty in 2009, but it was vetoed by then-Gov. M. Jodi Rell. Her replacement, Dannel P. Malloy, has pledged to sign a repeal bill.
But the emotional backdrop of the Hayes and Komisarjevsky trials Petit's quiet lobbying appear to have sharply changed the dynamic.
"It has a huge impact. … Dr. Petit is an individual with a tragic situation,'' said Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield, a New Haven Democrat and leader of the repeal movement in the House of Representatives. "But we've had other individuals with tragic situations that don't agree with him.'' Advocates of repeal brought in scores of family members of murder victims who spoke against capital punishment and in favor of repeal.
"Keeping the death penalty until next year will ensure that victim family members will continue with the constant uncertainty and endless media attention," Elizabeth Brancato of Torrington, whose mother was murdered in 1979, said in a press release issued by supporters of the repeal movement. "The death penalty is nothing more than a grisly distraction from the real needs of so many victims."
The AP report is, "Conn. death penalty repeal appears in doubt," by Susan Haigh. It's via WABC-TV.
Efforts to repeal Connecticut's death penalty this year appeared in doubt Wednesday after a key state senator informed her leadership that she has agreed not to support repeal at the request of Dr. William Petit, the lone survivor of a 2007 Cheshire home invasion in which his wife and daughters were killed.
Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, said Petit and his sister recently met with her and asked the longtime legislator not to support the repeal legislation. Even though the legislation states that it only affects future capital felony crimes, she said Petit is concerned that the second suspect in his family's case, Joshua Komisarjevsky, could use the repeal as the basis for an appeal and possibly not face capital punishment.
"Whatever he would have asked me to do, I would have done, because that family doesn't deserve any more stress or aggravation," Prague said. "So, I'm going to honor their request. I want to do a little something for them."
Ben Jones, executive director of the Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty, said his group is still waiting to see whether the repeal bill can pass this year. He said there are still "a handful" of uncommitted senators. The advocates were optimistic about the legislation's chances because Gov. Dannel P. Malloy supports repealing the death penalty for future crimes.
"We want to see if they're going to take it up this year or wait. There's a lot of stuff going on obviously, with the layoffs and everything," Jones said, referring to state budget issues. "If they wait, it won't be a surprise. Right now a lot of things are up in the air."
Jones said there is enough support for the bill in the House of Representatives.
Prague has voted for the death penalty in the past. A granddaughter of one of her neighbors was a victim of serial killer Michael Ross, the last person to be executed in Connecticut. He was put to death in 2005.
Since that time, Prague said she has become concerned about the possibility of the state executing an innocent man, especially after learning about James Tillman, the Connecticut man who was imprisoned from 1988 to 2006 for a rape and kidnapping he said he did not commit. DNA evidence later cleared him of the crimes.
Prague said Petit fears repealing the law could hinder efforts to convict the last suspect in the case and impose a death sentence. The other man charged was convicted and sentenced to death last year.
The Day reports, "Senators change minds on death penalty," by JC Reindl.
State Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, doesn't believe in the death penalty.
She says she would like to see it abolished in Connecticut, and until last week, was ready to lend her vote to the latest repeal bill in the legislature.
But Prague said she changed her mind after an emotion-filled meeting last Friday at the Capitol with Dr. William Petit, the lone survivor of the 2007 Cheshire home invasion that left his wife and two daughters dead.
She and fellow senator Andrew Maynard, D-Stonington, reversed their pro-repeal positions after sitting down on separate occasions with Petit and his sister, Johanna Chapman, and his lawyer, Jeffrey Meyer, the son of Sen. Edward Meyer, D-Guilford.
"I just feel that if there is anything I could do to help this man at all, I've got to do it," Prague said Wednesday. "This man has been through enough without us making it more difficult on him."
Maynard said he was particularly convinced to change his vote after he heard Petit, Chapman and Meyer detail their experience with the legal system.
At one point during legal proceedings, the defendants were referred to as "gentlemen" while Petit's wife and two daughters were called the "alleged victims," Maynard said.
"That statement stung me as I thought about being in his place," Maynard said Wednesday night. "I know that is not a reason to change your mind on the position, but you're suddenly confronted with: What in the world are we doing to people that have suffered these kinds of horrific experiences?"
"At Petit's request, two senators stop repeal of death penalty," by Mark Pazniokas for the CT Mirror.
Two senators opposed to capital punishment said Wednesday they are refusing to vote to repeal the death penalty this year at the request of Dr. William A. Petit, sole survivor of a home invasion that left his wife and two daughters dead. Their switch ends the repeal effort for 2011.
Sen. Edith G. Prague, D-Columbia, told Senate leaders she would not vote for repeal until next session, after the trial of the last of two defendants in the Cheshire home invasion case, in which Petit's wife was strangled and his daughters bound and left to die in their burning home.
Sen. Andrew Maynard, D-Stonington, who voted for repeal two years ago, said he also has reconsidered as a result of conversations with Petit. Prague also voted for repeal in 2009.
"I actually believe in repealing the death penalty," said Prague, a senator for 16 years. "For Dr. Petit, for me to do one more thing to cause him some kind of angst, I can't do it."
Prague and Maynard said Petit, a sister, Johanna Chapman, and a lawyer, Jeffrey Meyer, who is the son of Sen. Edward Meyer, D-Guilford, told them in separate meetings that repeal could complicate the capital trial of Joshua Komisarjevsky, one of two men charged in the Cheshire case. Another defendant, Steven Hayes, was convicted and sentenced to death.
The repeal legislation was written as a prospective law, to affect only crimes committed after the effective date. But opponents have said it could be grounds for appeal by Komisarjevsky, if sentenced to death, or others to fight a death sentence, and Petit made that case to Prague in a legislative conference room last week.
Prague's voice broke Wednesday as she recounted her visit from Petit.
"I can still see Dr. Petit's face in front of me. Oh, my god in heaven. I'm doing it because that's what they came in for," Prague said. "They brought their lawyer and said, 'If you vote for the repeal, it would make it more difficult."
Kimberly Harrison, a lobbyist for the repeal campaign, said she understands that Petit has been a powerful and sympathetic figure at the Capitol, though a similar bill passed in 2009, while the crime still was fresh in the minds of legislators. Gov. M. Jodi Rell vetoed the measure.
Petit has testified at public hearings on on crime bills, as has his sister.
"He has every right to influence legislators," Harrison said.
With Maynard and Prague on board, the repeal legislation would have passed on an 18 to 18 vote, with Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman breaking the tie. The House has ample votes for passage, and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is willing to sign the bill into law.
"Conn. legislator's reversal on death penalty expected to end repeal effort, by Mary E. O’Leary in the New Haven Register.
Abolition advocates see the delay as just that.
“The repeal movement in our state is stronger than ever, bringing together a variety of groups like never before who remain committed to repeal,” said Ben Jones, executive director of the Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty. “This merely puts off for another year the inevitable end of the death penalty in our state, another year of failing victims’ family members and another year of wasting limited state resources.”
Earlier coverage from Connecticut begins at the link.
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