Posted on 04/05/2012 7:37:59 AM PDT by matt04
Shortly after 2 a.m. Thursday, state senators voted to pass the high-profiled death penalty repeal bill 20-16.
The proposal now goes to the House of Representatives, where it is expected to pass easily. Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has said he would sign the legislation into law.
The legislation would not directly affect sentences of the 11 inmates on Connecticut's death row. But relatives of some crime victims are opposing the measure, saying it could be used by lawyers for those inmates as grounds for appeal.
...
Support for the death penalty remains high in Connecticut, where a Quinnipiac University poll last month found 62 percent of residents do not support repeal. But state lawmakers on both sides of the issue have raised concerns on what the poll is actually reflecting, and the governor has said people should follow their conscience on the issue.
In 2009, a death penalty repeal bill passed the Connecticut legislature but was vetoed by then Gov. Jodi Rell. Last year, a similar effort failed in the Senate due largely to an ongoing death penalty trial in the Cheshire home invasion.
(Excerpt) Read more at wfsb.com ...
Cowards. They wait until the horrific murders, assault and arson of the Petit family home is out of many people's minds to pass this bill.
Mark my words, some if not all of the people on death row will have their sentences reduced.
I don’t see how they can claim that this won’t affect people already on death row. My understanding of English Common Law is that must benefit if the penalty for the offence is reduced.
Ct changes border sign to Welcome home invading murderers.
Just one thing after another.
So they don’t give a rat’s hindquarters that almost two thirds of voters support the DP.And as for those still on death row...I’ll wager the clothes on my back that if this passes and is signed not another killer will be executed.The currest Rat governor will block all executions while he’s in office and he’ll commute all death sentences on his last day in office.
I’m sure as we type lawyers for the inmates on death row are working on that.
Unfortunately, support for traitorous Democrats remains high in Connecticut, as well.
http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/politics/senate-votes-on-death-penalty-repeal
The legislation would eliminate capital punishment for all future cases, but would not directly affect sentences of the 11 inmates currently on Connecticut’s death row. Many officials insisted on that as a condition of their support for repeal in a state where two men were recently sentenced to death in a brutal, highly publicized 2007 home invasion.
...But opponents of the bill predicted the repeal will be the basis for numerous legal appeals by lawyers for death row inmates.
“The idea that the death penalty can be repealed prospectively only and that our actions today will ensure that the 11 murderers on death row in Connecticut will one day face execution is a mere fallacy,” said Senate Minority John McKinney, R-Fairfield. “We know and it is undisputed that appeals will be brought almost immediately, we’ve been told, on behalf of those 11 death row inmates to commute their sentences.”
As an attorney who has represented three clients sentenced to death and seen it work up close. I completely oppose the death penalty.
First there is the moral objection. If like me, you get your spiritual guidance from christian authority figures (in my case the Catholic bishops) you should know that they say the death penalty is as morally wrong as legal abortion.
Secondly the penalty is unevenly applied. It does not go to the “worst of the worst”, but to those who have a bad lawyer, an uncertain case or a grandstanding prosecutor (if a client is caught dead-to-rights on the evidence and is facing the DP any competent lawyer pleads him out to life in prison)
Third, the error rate is WAY too high. of the three men I represented: One was incredibly innocent, the forensics proved this, as did a dozen eyewitnesses. 48 hours even did a special on the case. but a corrupt prosecutor covering for an organized crime figure led to this man being sentenced to death for a murder he didn’t commit. He spent more than 20 years on death row before the courts finally cleared him.
Another of them was indeed a murderer and deserves to spend the rest of his life behind bars, but was deliberately framed by the police for a second murder so he could be executed-something that was only proved when the REAL murderer died, and gave his lawyer permission to turn over to police evidence that proved he did it, including the murder weapon.
the final one claimed he was innocent too, I don’t know if he was or wasn’t. What i do know id that he was falsely diagnosed with AIDS while in prison and before trial and believed he was dying so he barely bothered to put up much of a defense, and his incompetent lawyer never cared about his mental condition or made even a token effort at doing his job.
Oh, and BTW, it costs about 5x as much for the state to execute a prisoner than it does to incarcerate them for the rest of their natural lives
“Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord”, It is not something we imperfect humans should attempt on his behalf
I have opposed the death penalty for many years now. I have no love for those who deserve it, but the fact is, it is the one punishment meted out by the state that cannot be overturned, rolled back, or compensated for.
The only death penalty I support is the immediate killing by the victims, of the murderer in self defense.
Call every Republican and Republican running for election this cycle and demand they run ads focusing on those two bastards who raped and killed a mom and her two daughters before torching their home!!!!!!!!
Even libtards would come out and vote for a Republican after watching that. Hopefully the TV outlets won't deem it "offffffensive", or "sccccarrrry"...
I am generally opposed to the death penalty, but there are certain cases, like the Petits in Connecticut, where Justice demands it. Someone who has their family ripped from them, a child tortured and raped, or some other very heinous crime deserves real justice.
Vengeance might be the Lord’s, but He doesn’t deny us Justice in this life. Vengeance would be Dr. Petit torturing his family’s murderers to death. Justice is their getting a lethal injection.
I’ll bet the state favors abortions though!
CT passed legislation that made it legal for drag queens to use women’s bathrooms. Possibly made it a hate crime to protest about it too.
Anyway, this is just one more reason that I won’t be visiting CT.
Don’t be surprised. Human life has no value to a Democrat...except that of a criminal or terrorist.
It may make enlightened liberals "feel good" about this legislation, but it's MEANINGLESS.
There is nothing wrong with the death penalty if it is applied to those who are truely guilty. Therefore it is the absolute duty of the state to make sure that it’s evidence is beyond dispute, that the suspect had all their rights protected, and that competant counsel was had for them.
It is worth the money to make sure that this happens.
However, TRY THIS ON FOR SIZE.
Between myself, my mother, my sister, my daughter and father-in-law, we knew personally or by a relationship, of over 15 people who were viciously murdered by robbers, crazy people, or political assassins (i.e. Black Panthers, suspected Weathermen terrorists, Philippine Marxists (Lt. Col. Nick Rowe/ former VN POW, a friend), etc.
Many were killed: in a homosexual incident/robbery; by four black robbers from Baltimore who executed a white college professor, his wife, his neighbor’s 7 year old son, and his nanny, after being tied up in their homes in New York (I knew the professor’s daughter); one man was shot by his girlfriend (she got off on negligent manslaughter - 3 years); a art dealer who was killed by a possible lover; the top atheist in America, Madeline Murray, whose son I used to know; Iranian exile Ali Tabatabai, who was assassinated by an Iranian killer named Daoub one hour after talking to my editor; and others.
Also add into this the attempted murder of fellow undercover operatives and/or law enforcement officials in New Orleans and NYC (stabbing; firebombing); one possible attempt on my life that was thwarted and another one against me and my family that resulted in the arrest and jailing of a drug dealer; a drunk’s attack on my son in his car about six months after he had returned from Iraq - big mistake, my son was armed and arrested the bastard; a woman up the street from our family store who was beaten to death by her boyfriend - I gave the police the name of the suspect whom I got from a local neighbor; and my father-in-law knew a family in Colorado who were murdered in their homes in a possible robbery - at least 4 people, probably more).
Need I say any more about the need for a properly functioning death penalty?
I’m tired of the bodies of innocent people piling us around us while liberals make all kinds of excuses for letting their convicted murderers live out their lives, and at the taxpayers’ expense.
A society that refuses to protect itself is a doomed society.
How many clients did you refuse because you knew they were guilty?
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