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

Longtime death penalty foe savors historic House repeal debate

  • Money
  • by Keith M. Phaneuf
  • April 11, 2012
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

One of the staunchest opponents of capital punishment in modern Connecticut legislative history was on hand Tuesday to enjoy the anticipated historic House vote to send a repeal bill to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

Former Rep. William Dyson, a New Haven Democrat who spearheaded several repeal efforts in the 1980s and 1990s, said a combination of several factors finally brought repeal to fruition this spring.

“It’s important that we have a governor willing to sign it,” Dyson said of Malloy. A repeal bill enacted in 2009 was vetoed by then-Gov. M. Jodi Rell.

The former New Haven lawmaker also said the work of The Connecticut Innocence Project and others who have used DNA evidence to help exonerate Connecticut inmates convicted of major offenses repeatedly showed the vulnerabilities of the judicial system in recent years. “It seemed like it was happening every month or so,” he said.

And ironically, the brutal slayings from the 2007 Cheshire home invasion — a crime that many argue galvanized support for the capital punishment — also played a role in furthering its repeal, Dyson said.

And as the aftermath of that tragedy included a closer look at violent crime in Connecticut, it also led many to look at the disparity with which society responds to criminals and victims in communities of poverty and affluence. “It gave us a demonstration of the stark reality of how we treat some people one way, and others another way,” he said.

Dyson said the political compromise that made passage possible — repealing capital punishment for future felony offenses but retaining the sentence for the 11 inmates currently on death row — was a disappointment. “I have a problem with it,” he said. “We’re making an argument that, on one hand some people need to die, but in the future, people are not going to die. I would have preferred something much cleaner.”

Dyson also acknowledged another longstanding death penalty foe Tuesday, the late Rep. Richard Tulisano of Rocky Hill, who chaired the Judiciary Committee for much of Dyson’s legislative tenure.

“Tulo would have been glowing to hear this debate,” Dyson said, adding he would be calling with Tulisano’s widow, Beverly, after the House adjourned.

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

Keith M. Phaneuf

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Big dollars hang in the balance as CT finance panel rushes to finish work
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Millions of dollars in proposed tax hikes and cuts remain in play as the finance committee nears its Thursday deadline.

There’s a plan to get rid of property tax on cars. But how would towns make up the difference?
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Adjusting the 70% assessment ratio on homes is one option

A little-known technical bill could be the key to more money for core programs
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Appropriations Committee leaders have a new strategy to more pump state dollars into education, social services and health care.

Auditors: UConn Hartford campus construction cost $30M more than budgeted
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Construction and renovations combined originally were priced at $87 million. Final cost: $116.7 million.

CT to start collecting family-leave tax from its workers next week
by Keith M. Phaneuf

The state will begin deducting the new tax to support family and medical leave benefits from non-union employees this month.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Biden is right to think big on infrastructure
by Jim Cameron

Hurrah! It was finally “infrastructure week” in Washington. In his first 100 days as President, Joe Biden has delivered a plan that his predecessor just kept teasing us with for four years:  a complete rehabilitation and expansion of the nation’s infrastructure.

Opinion My life and every other Black life matters
by Eugene Bertrand

"My life and every other black life matters." This is every black person's motto in the United States of America. In the past few months, we've seen an increase in deaths among the Black community.

Opinion Send us the children
by Kellin Atherton

Send us the children, President Biden. Send us the children, Governor Lamont. But not just the children. Move heaven and earth to find their families. Find mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins. Children are coming here alone. Find someone to ease their loneliness and bring them too.

Opinion Lobbyist uses seniors and people with disabilities to protect drug company profits
by Ellen M. Andrews

Reading William Smith’s opinion (Connecticut must protect vulnerable populations from biased and discriminatory healthcare practices, April 13, 2021), I was worried that my state had passed draconian laws that were harming the health of seniors and people with disabilities. Thankfully, that isn’t the case. Our anti-discrimination laws are still in place and functioning.

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