Posted inJustice

High Court reaffirms the end of Connecticut’s death penalty

The state Supreme Court declined Thursday to reverse its 2015 decision eliminating the last vestige of capital punishment in Connecticut – the sentences facing 11 men on death row when the legislature repealed the death penalty for future crimes. The 5-2 ruling means an end to the death penalty, a punishment the General Assembly repealed for future crimes in 2012.

Posted inCT Viewpoints

A death penalty hypothetical for the Connecticut Supreme Court

Appellate judges are famous for asking hypothetical questions. They are a very important part of the oral argument process, as they help the judges understand how their decisions in particular cases may apply to future cases. Advocates rarely get to ask judges hypothetical questions, but I’m going to ask one anyway. It is directed to the esteemed justices of the Connecticut Supreme Court who [recently], in a 4-3 decision, abolished the death penalty. (I don’t expect an answer of course. This is just a thought experiment.)

Posted inCT Viewpoints

Connecticut death penalty ruling ends costly, ineffective policy

The Connecticut Supreme Court’s ruling that our state’s capital punishment law is unconstitutional has fulfilled all of the objectives of the Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty. The ruling has put an end to a broken policy that prolonged the legal process, and as a result sometimes inflicted additional harm on murder victims’ families.