Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

At Petit’s request, two senators stop repeal of death penalty

  • by Mark Pazniokas
  • May 11, 2011
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

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.

Petit Meyer Chapman

Dr. William Petit, flanked by his lawyer and sister at a legislative hearing this year.

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.

The Senate Democratic majority held a caucus on the death penalty Wednesday, concluding passage was impossible this year. The bill would have made life in prison without possibility of parole the maximum criminal penalty in Connecticut.

The Connecticut Network Against the Death Penalty acknowledged that the repeal effort had failed for 2011.

“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,” said Ben Jones, the group’s executive director.

Prague, one of many senators visited by Petit in recent days, told her colleagues she would not change her mind. If the bill was to pass this session, proponents would have to find another 18th vote. With Maynard’s defection, they needed a 17th and an 18th vote.

“I’ve been lobbied by everybody to change my mind. I just can’t do it,” she said.

Maynard said a vote this session would cause the Petits anguish. “It just seems ill-timed to me,” he said.

Next year, Prague said, she would vote for repeal after the last Cheshire trial is over, but not this year, not with Petit asking her to wait.

“You know something, I just felt I just wanted to do a little something to help him,” she said. “I can’t vote for it this session. I can’t do it. I can’t do it.”

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Pazniokas

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Connecticut needs a strong two-party system, this Democrat says
by Edward Marcus

J.R. Romano’s recent resignation as the state’s Republican Party chair has brought into focus the need for a viable opposition party in Connecticut. It is not healthy politics when everything is totally controlled by one party:  the legislature, the governorship, and most of the major municipalities in our state.

Vaccinations in nursing homes top 64,000; COVID cases are dropping rapidly among residents
by Dave Altimari

There were 238 COVID infections reported in nursing homes last week, down from 483 a few weeks ago.

Advocates call on state to improve response to vulnerable students
by Adria Watson

State child advocate Sarah Eagan and attorney Martha Stone want the state to do more for these students during COVID.

CT budget leaders want to use massive savings to expand COVID-19 relief
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration expects to spend about $630 million less than legislators authorized.

The game is changing. Chris Murphy says he’s ready to play.
by Mark Pazniokas

The question for Sen. Chris Murphy no longer is where might he go next, but what can he do now.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Connecticut needs a strong two-party system, this Democrat says
by Edward Marcus

J.R. Romano’s recent resignation as the state’s Republican Party chair has brought into focus the need for a viable opposition party in Connecticut. It is not healthy politics when everything is totally controlled by one party:  the legislature, the governorship, and most of the major municipalities in our state.

Opinion Connecticut’s $100 million college shell game
by Stephen Adair

The plan to consolidate the 12 community colleges in Connecticut into one college with 12 campuses is called “Students First,” which is ironic because it does not fund students first.  It funds a new administration in a new, statewide bureaucracy. The Board of Regents (BOR) and the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system office […]

Opinion Inconsistent television captioning is a barrier to equal access
by Jeffrey Bravin and Barbara Cassin

Our world long ago entered the age of the 24-hour news cycle, and a full understanding of the “who, what, when, where and why” of the news is critical for deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing citizens. Yet, Connecticut’s inconsistent quality of television captioning locks our community out of the complete sense of what is happening.

Opinion A just stimulus package is a start toward true racial inclusion
by Carlton L Highsmith

For centuries Blacks have been denied full participation in the American Dream. But for the sake of our collective progress, as we recover from the crippling economic effects of COVID-19, our country has a mandate to acknowledge its history of systematic institutionalized exclusionary practices and not repeat them.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO