This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

The Death Penalty In Connecticut

Arguments for and against capital punishment.

The death penalty will once again be the subject of sharp debate in the Connecticut Legislature. Though an initial proponent of this punishment, I now find myself wavering. This column hopefully will generate some comments, both in support of and in opposition to the death penalty. Proponents and opponents of the death penalty have already spoken out eloquently and in great length. I cannot, nor do I have the ability to air all sides of the debate, but enough will be said to hopefully  generate commentary from you, the reader. The Judiciary Committee is holding a public hearing Monday on repealing the death sentence in room 2C of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, starting at 11:30 a.m.

Sen. John Kissel (R-7) supports the death penalty. In a communication from the Senate Republican Office, dated May 22, 2009, it is stated that the Senator voted in opposition to a proposal to abolish the death sentence (HB 6578):

Sen. Kissel opposed the bill and spoke at length on the floor of the Senate, citing a number of reasons for his opposition. “When it comes to my Correction Officers,” said Sen. Kissel, “if you’re in prison for life without the possibility of release, there is no deterrent to keep and inmate from killing a correction officer or some other prison employee. If we abolish the death penalty there is no big stick left to keep law and order in our correctional facilities.” Kissel also offered an amendment that would carve out an exemption to the underlying bill for the murder of an employee of the Department of Correction by an inmate. The amendment was defeated 20-15.

Find out what's happening in Enfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Kissel also noted that while he opposes abolishing the death penalty, he believes it should be used only in rare cases. “I support the continuation of reserving the death penalty for only the most heinous crimes,” said Kissel. “I fully support the notion that capital punishment should be legal, but rare. New England has an incredible history of tolerance. We believe in justice, equality and that people should treat each other with respect and dignity. We are unafraid to take the high minded view to lead the nation in how we treat one another and in that vein, while I espouse the belief we need to have a death penalty, we need to keep it rare.

Other arguments in favor of the death penalty are ones that we have heard before.

Find out what's happening in Enfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

        1. Capital punishment removes the worst of the worst criminals from society forever. There will never be escapes or parole and society will forever be protected.

        2. The cost to keep a murderer incarcerated is huge. The money is better spent on helping society rather than spending dollars keeping a sociopath in prison.

        3. Execution is retribution for the commission of the worst of crimes.

        4. The death penalty is a deterrence and indeed does prevent others from committing murder.

Dr. William Petit, whose family loss still haunts us today, supports the death penalty. Dr Petit responded to Gov. Rell's vetoing a bill abolishing the death penalty: “I want to thank Gov. Rell for her moral courage and clarity to stand up for what is right and just with her veto of the bill to abolish the death penalty. The death penalty is the appropriate just and moral societal response to those who commit capital felonies." Dr. Petit also said in another statement: "For certain murders and other crimes there is no other penalty that will serve justice other than the death penalty".

Arguments against the death penalty are also very persuasive.

Last week, dozens of family members of murder victims attended  a press conference to speak out against the death penalty. Kenton Robinson of The Day, reported on this event:   Thank you to reporter Kenton Robinson, whose commentary follows:

They stood in a row behind the podium in hearing room 1B of the Legislative Office Building Wednesday, more than a dozen fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, sons and daughters of the murdered.

They were there to ask the state legislature to end the death penalty, bringing with them a petition signed by 76 family members of murder victims.

Their argument was a simple one: Connecticut's death penalty is broken; it perpetuates a system that torments the victims' families with a promise of closure that never comes.

The last man to be executed in Connecticut was Michael Ross who was put to death twenty-one years after his arrest. During those twenty-one years, the families of the victims had to endure trials, appeals, and endless publicity. The families did not deserve this. They deserved closure. People who attended this conference said that Michael Ross should have been sent to prison for life and then forgotten about.

West Hartford clinical psychologist, Dr. Gail Canzano spoke about the murder of her brother-in-law, Thomas E. Otte, in 1999.

"As a clinical psychologist with many years of experience of treating individuals suffering from the effects of trauma, I can tell you that the death penalty is injurious to families of murder victims. Why? Because every single court appearance retraumatizes the family, forcing them to relive the murder of their loved one over and over again," she said.

"These criminals could be put away and forgotten", Canzano said, "but instead they become celebrities, and we torture the families of their victims by dragging them through decades of publicity and court proceedings. Tell me, where is the justice in that? ... The death penalty doesn't work, and it's not possible to fix it."

When asked about the Petit case, Canzano said, "This family will be going through appeals for decades. I think that they will never see (Hayes and Komisarjevsky) executed...I have no advice to Dr. Petit except to tell him he is in our hearts and our prayers and we grieve with his family as they go through this".

Elizabeth Brancato of Torrington spoke of the death of her mother, Barbara.

"I experienced the nightmare of being trapped in the criminal justice process. For five years my family and I endured the trial and the appeal process of my mother's killer," Brancato said. "The trial demanded all my attention. ... My healing was put on hold; my grief was put on hold."

Walter Everett of Bridgeport spoke of the death of his son, Scott.

"A capital trial to follow through to an execution costs the state of Connecticut some $4 million," he said. "They can save two-thirds of that with life sentences...I am convinced that the state of Connecticut ought to abolish the death penalty and take some of the millions of dollars which they would save by using that money for victims' services, to allow victims to start to heal," Everett said.

State Rep. David Kiner (D-59) is also opposed to the death penalty. When recently asked about this issue, Kiner said: "I am opposed to the death penalty for these three simple reasons:

1.) There is always the possibility, as recent cases suggest, that innocent people may be executed. DNA evidence has shown this to be true. Until people are found guilty beyond all doubt and not just a reasonable doubt I will continue to oppose the death penalty.

2.) The death penalty is not a deterrent! If it were, states like Florida, Virginia and Texas would have a much lower crime rate than what they do.

3.) After all appeals have been exhausted, it ultimately ends up costing the state of Connecticut more money, than to incarcerate the guilty with absolutely no chance of parole."

I know that this issue exudes strong emotions. If you care to respond, your comments will be appreciated.

Editor's note: State Rep. David Kiner is the son of the author.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?