Connecticut's Religious Leaders Say End the Death Penalty

Dozens of Religious Leaders Rally in Hartford to Advocate the Abolition of Connecticut's Capital Punishment Law

Calling it the just and moral thing to do, dozens of religious leaders from the state’s Christian and Jewish communities gathered at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford Tuesday to petition the General Assembly to repeal Connecticut’s death penalty law.

“There are times where sometimes we have theological debates about things in which we disagree, however when it comes to the death penalty this is one item that members of major denominations agree, there is consensus that the death penalty should be abolished,” said State Rep. Bruce Morris, D-Norwalk, who also serves as a minister and emceed Tuesday’s proceedings.

The religious leaders presented Morris and State Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield, D-New Haven, with a letter signed by more than 300 clergy supporting passage of House Bill 5036, a bill introduced by Holder-Winfield that would abolish Connecticut’s death penalty. Speakers advocated replacing the state’s capital punishment law with a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of release for the state’s most violent convicted murderers.

“As people of faith, we reaffirm our opposition to the death penalty and belief in the sacredness of human life,” the letter stated. “We urge you, our elected officials, to examine the reality of Connecticut’s death penalty and seek ways to achieve true healing for those who suffer because of violent crime. Please support repeal of the death penalty. It is time for Connecticut to move beyond this broken and harmful system.”

Speakers argued that the death penalty was an “ineffective, unfair and fallible” response to violent crimes.

“The death penalty applies disproportionately to the poor and minorities and puts innocent lives at risk of execution,” Morris said. “Since 1973, 138 individuals sentenced to death were later exonerated of their crimes. When a human life is at stake, there’s simply no room for error.”

James Curry, a Bishop from the Episcopal Church, said that he has spoken to the victims of many families who feel that the death penalty only adds to their pain and suffering, because of lengthy trials and appeals and the notoriety associated with the cases.

“By abolishing the death penalty, we in Connecticut have an opportunity to affirm and respect our dignity as a society,” Curry said. “…Life imprisonment without possibility of release is a punishment that can respect the needs of a victim’s family for closure in the legal process, it can respect their needs for justice, and it can respect the memory of all their loved ones.”

Peter Rosazza, a Bishop from the Connecticut Catholic Conference, said that the Catholic Church opposes the death penalty because it violates the sanctity of life.

“Human life is a gift from god that must be respected from conception to natural death,” Rosazza said. “Our profound respect for human life also explains why we are opposed to any attack against human life, including abortion and euthanasia.”

Rosazza noted that Connecticut was the last state in New England to abolish slavery, adding “we hope it is not the last state to abolish the death penalty.”

Rabbi Donna Berman said that the death penalty went against the Jewish tradition and was not an effective deterrent.

“Even in ancient times there were those who felt that capital punishment was a deterrent to crime, but they represented the minority opinion,” Berman said. “In our own day, studies show that capital punishment is in fact not a deterrent. The truth is we can deter crime and protect society just as effectively, more effectively, with life imprisonment without the possibility of release. In this way we can avoid the very real risk of taking an innocent life.”

The death penalty has always been a hot button issue in Connecticut, but has risen in prominence the past several years due to a brutal 2007 Cheshire home invasion. Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, were sexually assaulted and murdered in their home after a failed robbery attempt. One man, Steven Hayes, 47, was convicted in 2010 and sentenced to death, while another, Joshua Komisarjevsky, is currently on trial for the crime. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Komisarjevsky.

Both houses of the legislature approved a bill to veto the death penalty in 2009, but then governor vetoed the bill, citing the Cheshire home invasion.

Holder-Winfield said he expected the General Assembly’s Judiciary Committee to vote on the current bill within a week. He said he expected the bill to pass, and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to sign it into law.

“The work that I’m doing on the death penalty comes out of both my religious faith and my sense for justice,” Holder-Winfield said.

During his campaign, Malloy, a former federal prosecutor, repeatedly stated he was opposed to the death penalty.

In the most recent Quinnipiac University Poll on the subject, released March 10, 67 percent of Connecticut residents said they supported the death penalty, compared to 28 percent who said they opposed it.

The event was originally intended to be held on the steps of the state capitol, but was moved indoors because of the weather.

Source: Montville Patch, April 6, 2011

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Philippines: Aquino against re-imposing death penalty

(UPDATE) President Benigno Aquino has said he would look into calls for the re-imposition of the death penalty but at the same time indicated that he’s against the implementation anew of capital punishment.

MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE) President Benigno Aquino has said he would look into calls for the re-imposition of the death penalty but at the same time indicated that he’s against the implementation anew of capital punishment.

Aquino was asked the question amid renewed calls for the death penalty after a series of car-theft-related murders.

“I will have to study that, and I don’t know where the calls are emanating from but the essence here is that our judicial system, as you know, is not perfect,” Aquino said in a chance interview after addressing the Liberal Party’s 65th anniversary ceremonies.

Aquino indicated that he was once an advocate of the death penalty. He said he even had discussions on the death penalty with his mother, the late democracy icon and former President Corazon Aquino.

“At the end of the day, I used to support death penalty,” he said.

“But I really witnessed a justice that was not perfect, so I have to change my position...Since we cannot turn back the clock, if we execute somebody, then we shouldn’t, in the off chance that we might render that penalty to somebody who was not guilty,” he added.

Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, an author of a bill calling for the re-imposition of the death penalty, has again sought support for the capital punishment in the wake of car thefts that ended in the abduction and killing of car dealers.

Lawyer Oliver Lozano, the father of one of the victims of the recent killings and car thefts, also asked for the return of the death penalty.

But Aquino called for caution. “There is a possibility that people can be wrongly convicted especially if they do not have the ability to secure competent counsels. If in a perfect world, we have an efficient judicial system, then perhaps there is a room for that.”

“But when… because of your economic status you cannot get the right lawyers to help you out, then there is a possibility that you will be wrongly convicted. Then, if we are going to pass the death penalty, how do you turn back the clock if the accused is executed?” he added.

Aquino also vouched for the integrity of the Philippine National Police amid criticisms brought by the recent heinous crimes.

“Can I just add? There are so many criticisms against the PNP. But look at how many (cases) that they have been solving? And it will just take maybe a few minutes to Google search what their achievements have been,” Aquino hastened to add, before ending his interview with reporters.

The President felt optimistic that the investigation of recent crimes would be resolved soon.

Source: Politics Inquirer, January 19, 2011

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Illinois: New House Vote OKs Repeal Of Death Penalty

Less than 2 hours after their 1st vote failed, Illinois House members voted Thursday evening to abolish the death penalty in Illinois.

Late Thursday afternoon, the House voted 59-58 to abolish the death penalty, 1 vote short of passing the proposal. 1 representative, Rosemary Mulligan (R-Des Plaines) did not vote at the time.

But the chief sponsor, Rep. Karen Yarbrough (D-Maywood) used a parliamentary maneuver to pull the bill from the House floor to allow for a second vote and less than two hours later, the House approved the measure 60-54.

The measure now goes to the Senate for a vote.

During a lengthy debate on the House floor, supporters said the death penalty needs to be abolished because too many innocent people have been sent to death row.

Former Gov. George Ryan instituted a moratorium on executions in Illinois in 2000 after 13 Death Row inmates were exonerated and no death row inmates have been executed since then.

Rep. Susana Mendoza (D-Chicago), who said she has long been a staunch supporter of capital punishment, said she believes the death penalty should end because courts cannot correct a mistake if an innocent person is put to death.

"I could administer the death penalty myself to a cop killer or a baby killer without remorse," Mendoza said. "But this debate for me is no longer about whether guilty killers deserve to die for their crimes. They do deserve to die."

However, Mendoza added that, "we must accept the possibility of executing an innocent person and I'm not okay with that. None of us should be okay with that. … I can no longer stomach the idea of executing a potentially innocent person in order to make sure the guilty pay for their crimes."

But opponents said lawmakers have already taken many steps in the past decade to reform the state's death penalty system and ensure it is applied fairly. They pointed to reforms such as a law requiring videotaping of all interrogations in murder cases.

Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), a former prosecutor, said he believes death penalty reforms have worked to ensure a fair trial in capital cases.

"I am confident that these individuals were given more than due process. They were given super-process," Durkin said. "We need to let this process work its way through the course."

But supporters of repealing capital punishment said that numerous studies have showed that the death penalty is applied randomly across the state and that minorities and poor defendants are more likely to be sentenced to death than whites and the affluent. "The decision to have the death penalty in one case and not another, that is a random decision in the state of Illinois," House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago) said. "That is no way to run a criminal justice system."

Currie also noted that studies have shown that the death penalty has not served as a deterrent to violent crime.

Death penalty opponents questioned the findings of some of those studies.

"The death penalty is not random," Rep. Dennis Reboletti (R-Elmhurst) said. "[Prosecutors] have to sit down with their office to decide what to do. It isn't random, it isn't willy-nilly. … They take great pride in their work … they review the case, they spend time with lifetime prosecutors … to determine if the evidence meets the criteria."

Surprisingly, one lawmaker invoked Ryan's own legal troubles during the debate, without mentioning his name.

Rep. Monique Davis (D-Chicago) said that the death penalty is not necessarily the worst punishment a criminal can face.

"Being kept from a loved one who’s dying while you sit in a federal prison" might be considered a worse punishment than the death penalty, Davis said.

Ryan is serving a 6-1/2 year sentence in federal prison for corruption charges and is trying to get an early release or temporary furlough in order to visit his wife, Lura Lynn Ryan, who has been hospitalized with a severe infection. Doctors have said she likely has, at best, 2 weeks to live.

Source: CBS News, January 6, 2011