by Ryan McKeen
I oppose Connecticut death penalty for a number of reasons. I don’t think it’s possible to apply it fairly. I don’t think it deters crime. It is an extreme waste of resources. I don’t believe the State should kill people. The usual reasons one opposes the death penalty.
Reading the tweets from the courthouse in New Haven has challenged my views. The details are gruesome. Reading them makes me angry and sad. Very angry and very sad.
I want to live in a society that values life. I want to live in a society that condemns the behavior that Mr. Hayes is accused of on the harshest grounds possible.
I understand and respect that reasonable people can disagree on the issue of the death penalty.
I want to see fire rain on those who murdered the Petit family. Even that doesn’t seem like an equitable punishment. In fact, I can’t think of an equitable punishment for such a horrible crime. There’s comfort in believing in some higher justice than what’s administered on this Earth. Maybe then those who did this will meet an appropriate punishment.
The newspaper article and tweets challenge my views on Connecticut’s death penalty to the core but they have not changed my views on it.
It’s healthy to reflect on and re-examine one’s positions in life. The death penalty will likely be debated next legislative session. After reading what I’ve read, I’d be surprised if a bill to repeal the death penalty made it out of committee.
On one side of the death argument are all of the reasons I’ve outlined above and on the other side of the argument is Dr. Petit. If I were Doctor Petit, I’d want those who committed that crime dead too.
I don’t buy the arguments that the accused in the Petit case will never be put to death. Our law allows for it. When the State wants to do something it can do it. Connecticut’s death penalty may very well be unconstitutional but I’m not sure that it’s the Cheshire case that decides that point. Bad facts can make for bad law and these are very bad facts.
How has the trial impacted your views on Connecticut’s death penalty?
The post Has The Hayes Trial Changed Your View On The Death Penalty? appeared first on A Connecticut Law Blog.