Conn. Man Gets Death Penalty for Fatal Home Invasion

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (Nov. 8) -- A Connecticut man was condemned to death Monday for a night of terror inside a suburban home in which a woman was strangled and her two daughters tied to their beds, doused in gasoline and left to die in a fire.

Jurors in New Haven Superior Court voted unanimously to send Steven Hayes to death row after deliberating over the span of four days. The judge will impose the sentence.

Hayes' attorneys had tried to persuade jurors to spare him the death penalty by portraying him as a clumsy, drug addicted thief who never committed violence until the 2007 home invasion with a fellow paroled burglar. They called the co-defendant, Joshua Komisarjevsky, the mastermind and said he escalated the violence. They also said Hayes was remorseful and actually wanted a death sentence.

But prosecutors said both men were equally responsible and that the crime cried out for the death penalty, saying the family was tormented for seven hours before they were killed.

Hayes will join nine other men on Connecticut's death row. But the state has only executed one man since 1960, so Hayes will likely spend years if not decades in prison.

Komisarjevsky will be tried next year.

Authorities said Hayes and Komisarjevsky broke into the house, beat Dr. William Petit, and forced his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, to withdraw money from a bank while the rest of her family remained under hostage at home. Hayes then sexually assaulted and strangled her, authorities said. Komisarjevsky, who will be tried next year, is charged with sexually assaulting their 11-year-old daughter, Michaela.

Michaela and her 17-year-old sister, Hayley, were tied to their beds and doused in gasoline before the men set the house on fire, according to testimony. The girls died of smoke inhalation.

The crime was so unsettling that it became a key issue in the death penalty debate in the governor's race and led to tougher Connecticut laws for repeat offenders and home invasions. Gov. M. Jodi Rell cited the case when she vetoed a bill that would have abolished the death penalty.

To determine Hayes' punishment, the jury weighed so-called aggravating factors cited by prosecutors, including the heinous and cruel nature of the deaths, against mitigating factors argued by Hayes' attorneys.

The defense suggested prison would be more harsh than death for Hayes.
http://www.aolnews.com/crime/articl...e-in-fatal-connecticut-home-invasion/19707576

Now he gets to sit in prison for a couple decades on our dollar. I say one bullet would put this sub-human out of our misery forever.
 
I hate the death penalty process. This will be drawn out for 30 years and after a few appeals and millions of tax payer dollars this fuck might get what's coming to him. A good healthy dose of hamburger time.
 
What makes this even sadder is that if somebody had killed that guy to defend themselves while they were breaking into the home there is a good chance, if that place is like a lot of places in this country, the authorities would have wanted to prosecuted the people that were just defending themselves.
 
I'm studying capital punishment right now in a constitutional law course. The only three "first world" countries left to have it on the books are South Korea, Japan, and America.

True enough. It is peculiar that the U.S. has been a world leader in many forms of punitive litigation, yet is, in my opinion, terribly behind the times in regard to the death penalty.
 
Connecticutt is one of 39 states with Castle Laws or Stand Your Ground Laws so the Homeowner could have legally killed him if given an oppourtunity. Unfortunately he will be given 3 meals a day and a warm bed and all the healthcare he needs while waiting for the sentence to be carried out.
 
I remember being quite disgusted when I read about this story, no only the barbarity of the crime but also the poor decision making by the police. And no one commented when I posted the story back in mid September :crying:

http://board.freeones.com/showthread.php?t=441311&highlight=William+Petit

One of the more harsh crimes I can recall hearing of. There was a home invasion in my state where two beasts tied up a family of three and slit their throats and robbed the place. This was several years ago. That one still turns my stomach. Funny thing (or not) is that one of those POSs hung himself only a week after they sentenced him to life.

About this Hayes and that other guy, I say string their asses up next week. Sorry lurker, I have no sympathy for evil.
 

Facetious

Moderated
^ :glugglug:


What makes this even sadder is that if somebody had killed that guy to defend themselves while they were breaking into the home there is a good chance, if that place is like a lot of places in this country, the authorities would have wanted to prosecuted the people that were just defending themselves.

As they say, it's better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6! :ak47:

great point though

I hate the death penalty process. This will be drawn out for 30 years and after a few appeals and millions of tax payer dollars this fuck might get what's coming to him.

All true. :horse: :hatsoff:
 
One of the more harsh crimes I can recall hearing of. There was a home invasion in my state where two beasts tied up a family of three and slit their throats and robbed the place. This was several years ago. That one still turns my stomach. Funny thing (or not) is that one of those POSs hung himself only a week after they sentenced him to life.

About this Hayes and that other guy, I say string their asses up next week. Sorry lurker, I have no sympathy for evil.

I understand people feel a lot of anger and can't wait to see these animals executed but I sometimes think life behind bars in a tough jail is far worse, years thinking about what you've done or watching yourself grow old whilst constantly having to look over your shoulder, it aint exactly a walk in the park as some people seem to think. At the risk of sounding unpopular I agree with Dirk and don't believe in the death penalty, I don't think it has any place in a civilised society (even Japan with abolish it soon leaving the USA as the only G8 country to still practice it) and is clearly not a deterrent, however I respect and understand the reasons many people do want the death penalty, some cases I read about like this one often get me thinking but I always go back to my initial conclusion. :2 cents:
 
I understand people feel a lot of anger and can't wait to see these animals executed but I sometimes think life behind bars in a tough jail is far worse, years thinking about what you've done or watching yourself grow old whilst constantly having to look over your shoulder, it aint exactly a walk in the park as some people seem to think. At the risk of sounding unpopular I agree with Dirk and don't believe in the death penalty, I don't think it has any place in a civilised society (even Japan with abolish it soon leaving the USA as the only G8 country to still practice it) and is clearly not a deterrent, however I respect and understand the reasons many people do want the death penalty, some cases I read about like this one often get me thinking but I always go back to my initial conclusion. :2 cents:

That's what they say. But if that were the case, these parasites would'nt continue to challenge their penalties as much as they do. Sad to say, there are a portion of lowlifes in America who actually probably have been in prison/jail so much they become institutionalized and don't have a problem with it.
 

Jagger69

Three lullabies in an ancient tongue
This was an horrific crime....almost beyond comprehension. Understandably, emotions run extremely high with something like this and I have nothing but great empathy for the father. What a terrible, senseless and tragic thing to occur. The perpetrators are monsters....unquestionably, the most incorrigible examples that society can produce.

However, the severity of the act does not overshadow the arguments that anti death-penalty advocates like me have presented many times on this forum. However, out of regard for the victims and the father, I would not disrespect them in this thread in order to turn this into a debate on that issue. There are plenty of other threads that have already served that function on this forum.

What a sad, sad story. :(:(:(
 

meesterperfect

Hiliary 2020
hang ,draw and quarter.
first they hang you over and over until you lose consciousness each time.
then they cut off your dick, then they cut you open and remove all your organs one by one.....a good executioner can do it so you remain conscious right up until the heart.


i really feel the husband should be allowed to kill this man himself in any way he wants if he wishes in cases like these.
 
My heart breaks for the Father - Dr. Petit. Losing a child is never easy. Losing BOTH children in such a violent fashion is just unspeakably cruel. AND he suffers the added grief over losing his wife. The mother to their children.

Such a tragedy! How awful! :(

This was an horrific crime....almost beyond comprehension. Understandably, emotions run extremely high with something like this and I have nothing but great empathy for the father. What a terrible, senseless and tragic thing to occur. The perpetrators are monsters....unquestionably, the most incorrigible examples that society can produce.

However, the severity of the act does not overshadow the arguments that anti death-penalty advocates like me have presented many times on this forum. However, out of regard for the victims and the father, I would not disrespect them in this thread in order to turn this into a debate on that issue. There are plenty of other threads that have already served that function on this forum.

What a sad, sad story. :(:(:(
You took the words right from my mouth.

I am in full agreement with what you just said.


- R.
 
Then do something.

And what would you have me do, grab the Remington, tool half way across the country and put the feral beast down? I'm sorry, but I value my freedom, and I am not a Conneticut citizen.

I used to wonder how I could muster the strength to pull the lever or tie the noose, but I don't wonder anymore. I know if you handed me a loaded .38 Taurus with hollow tip I would have no problem pulling the trigger on this waste of space.
 
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