Dozens of murder victims' families have signed a letter calling on lawmakers to repeal the state's death penalty.
"In Connecticut, the death penalty is a false promise that goes unfulfilled, leaving victims' families frustrated and angry,'' states the letter signed by 76 mothers, brothers, daughters, and in-laws of murder victims. "And as the state hangs on to this broken system, it wastes millions of dollars that could go toward much needed victims' services.''
Instead of building a case that the death penalty constitutes "cruel and unusual punishment," or asserting that the state should not be in the business of killing -- even in the name of justice -- or that mistakes can be made and innocent people could be put to death, repeal proponents gathered for a press conference at the Capitol this morning focused on the impact the death penalty has on victims' families.
"The death penalty ensnares people in the criminal justice system where mandatory appeals, constitutional challenges and never-ending media attention result in notoriety for the murderer and years of suffering and uncertainty for the families left behind,'' said Gail Canzano, a psychologist from West Hartford whose brother-in-law was murdered in 1999. She was one of dozens of family members who attended the press conference; many of them brought framed portraits of their slain loved ones.
State Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield, the New Haven Democrat leading the repeal effort in the legislature, says he is confident a bill will pass this session, though the margin may be slimmer than the 90 to 56 vote in the House in favor of repeal in 2009. (That year, the Senate also voted in support of repeal, but then-Gov. M. Jodi Rell vetoed the bill.)