Posted on 12/04/2010 3:51:58 PM PST by Graybeard58
"I have seriously considered suicide many times. I have no wife, no children, no home and no interest in life in general." "I used to have trust and faith in humanity and you have taken that from me."
"You destroyed our family."
"He does not deserve life."
Those are just a few of the statements made by members of the Petit and Hawke families when Steven Hayes, who was convicted of murdering Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters Hayley and Michaela during a savage July 2007 home invasion in Cheshire, was formally sentenced to death Thursday by New Haven Superior Court Judge Jon Blue.
Hayes has a criminal record dating to 1980, when he was in his teens. Among his crimes were forgery, disorderly conduct, burglary and larceny.
During Hayes' trial, prosecutors presented a three-year old letter the defendant's younger brother, Matthew Hayes, wrote to the state police. He painted a picture of Steven Hayes as someone who exhibited sociopathic tendencies at a young age.
Matthew Hayes described having had his hand placed on a hot stove burner by his brother while they were in their teens. He also described having a gun placed to his head by his brother, and how Steven Hayes stole from and struck their mother.
During the penalty phase of the trial, a retired prison official, Frederick Levesque, testified that while in prison, Hayes threatened to kill corrections officers on two separate occasions: once in 1986, when Hayes was upset about needing permission to make a phone call; and the other last March. According to a published report, Hayes has received 23 disciplinary citations in the 30 years he has spent in the Connecticut correctional system. The most serious of these citations followed a June 1992 incident in which a homemade blowgun and dart were found in his cell.
Then there is the invasion of the Petit family home. Hayes was found guilty of six capital felonies stemming from the massacre. They included killing two or more people, the killing of a person under 16, murder in the course of a sexual assault, and three counts of intentionally causing death during a kidnapping.
During sentencing Thursday, Hayes apologized for and accepted responsibility for his actions. This apology, while extensive, will do nothing to erase the pain his actions have caused these families.
Even the most cursory analysis of Hayes' background reveals a man with a long history of anti-social behavior who has perpetrated or threatened to perpetrate unspeakable acts of violence. Connecticut courts correctly reserve death row for the worst of the worst, and Hayes has more than earned his place in line for execution.
You put the word feelings in quotes, you certainly are not quoting me as I mentioned "feelings" nowhere in my reply.
The benefit of the capital punishment is to at least relieve the victim’s family of a horrific psychological burden. Perhaps for others, the death penalty would compound the stress and despair. Whatever works best for the survivors makes sense.
In cases such as these, society owes the option of capital punishment to the victim’s family with a 3 year waiting before a decision could be made, another 2 years before the option is rescinded. If the choice is made for execution, it takes place within two weeks. In default after 5 years, the outcome is determined by the State.
I've read of cases, not just tv dramas, where survivors or next of kin ask that the death penalty not be sought.
I believe their wishes are usually respected.
>> My only requirement is that I be permitted to use a flamethrower to carry it out.
Fine by me, but don’t get too close... you want to cook him niiiice and slooooow.
>> The poster of this article is against the death penalty.
What punishment would you recommend, then?
Not bad. Well thought out.
“To me I believe that this individual has surrendered his right to continue living.”
Absolutely. It pains me to hear the arguments about treating prisoners compassionately, and that their rights are seen to completely...I’m certainly not advocating torture or inhumane living conditions, but at some point, when a person chooses to deprive an innocent person of their most BASIC right - the right to live - then they surrender a significant amount of their basic rights...in this case, they’ve willing given up the right to live...
I don’t believe in a long, torturous death for Hayes, he doesn’t deserve the effort...it should be quick, soon and immediate...the Russians had an excellent system, the prisoner was taken from the cell with no warning, no public announcement, the execution was a quick shot to the back of the head, and the family was billed for the bullet...
Thanks! Please circulate it so it might go somewhere . . .
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2637529/posts?page=24#24
“The perp works 10 hour days six days a week...”
That’s the only part I disagree with as far as your proposal...My father was a Federal judge and I raised that suggestion once during a discussion and he said that case law was pretty clear that we cannot compel a prisoner to work.
That being said, if the murderer wishes to spend his day rotting in his cell, I’m OK with that.
The problem with this is that when a total scumbag is convicted for a crime they didn't commit, it means that there is another scumbag who got away with it.
Interesting bit of trivia on this point: As Governor of Texas, George W. Bush commuted the sentence of exactly one condemned man to a sentence of life in prison. The man? Notorious serial killer Henry Lee Lucas. Despite being linked to dozens, if not hundreds of murders, Lucas was convicted of a mere eleven killings and sentenced to death for only one, a yet-unidentified Jane Doe known in case files only as "Orange Socks" (the sole items of clothing her body was found wearing). In a strange twist of irony, later investigations determined that this single victim, Orange Socks, was most likely killed by someone other than Lucas. Faced with these findings, Bush really had no choice but to commute the sentence.
Lucas would die in prison of heart failure a couple of years after his commutation while the true killer of Orange Socks has yet to face justice. The important point is that had Bush not exonerated Lucas for this single murder, the case files on Orange Socks would've been closed. Crime solved. Lucas did it. At least today her file remains open and while the chances of her killer being apprehended are slim, there's still a chance that justice may eventually be served.
I missed this part of your comment when I posted my reply #50.
I agree with you. Kill by fire & you die by fire. I wouldn’t have any problems killing this killer. Many years ago they had vigilantes who took care of the evil people in the land. Our government coddles these killers, rapists & gives them a home, food, tv etc. that they don’t deserve. May one day God will take care of this problem.
I see no reason to insult you for heartfelt beliefs respectfully expressed. Remember though that lifetime solitary has been found to be “cruel and unusual punishment” so anyone in GP with a con like this is at risk.
Therefore to protect the weak in prison i favor the imposition of capital punishment. 594 prisoners were murdered in US state prisons in 2007. How many lifers may have killed because there is no meaningful penalty?
I would pull the switch because I believe this man deserves death.
Don’t worry about the personal stress. I wouldn’t subject you, or anyone else. I’d take care of the dark work myself.
Great plan.
“If thumbs down, the closest family member/legal representative pulls the lever, pushes the plunger or throws the switch.”
To this I suggest it be added that, where there is a choice, manner of death is chosen by the victim’s loved one(s) so that even that measure of control is out of the killer’s hands.
There is one immutable, unalterable and undebatable fact regarding the application of the death penalty.
There is never a chance of recidivism.
I meant God help the poor man whose wife and daughters were killed.
I understand your position. If these people are to be put away and live out their days, then they should at least work for their upkeep—something actually productive from within the walls.
I’m OK with that as long as it’s one of the several usual methods we’ve already employed. I’m not into the boiling oil, chipper shredder or any of the other creative methods some here advocate. In the case of life sentencing, I wouldn’t be in favor of torture any more than I would coddling with special meal or priveledges - just work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work . . .
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