Wednesday, April 25, 2012
USA Hartford, CT) – Saying this is "a moment for sober reflection, not celebration," Governor Dannel Malloy(D) signed a bill Wednesday repealing the death penalty in Connecticut.
Citing his experience as a prosecutor and the "unworkable" nature of
Connecticut's death penalty law, Malloy said his position in opposition
to capital punishment has evolved over time.
A controversial aspect of the repeal is that it is "prospective." It
does not apply to the eleven men currently on Connecticut's death row.
Malloy acknowledged the inherent conflict, but said the inmates
currently awaiting their executions are far more likely "to die of old
age than they are to be put to death."
Recognizing the controversial nature of his decision (a Quinnipiac Poll
released today says 62% of state residents favor the death penalty),
Malloy issued an unusually long signing statement outlining his
position.
Statement From Governor Dannel Malloy:
"This afternoon I signed legislation that will, effective today, replace
the death penalty with life in prison without the possibility of
release as the highest form of legal punishment in Connecticut.
Although it is an historic moment – Connecticut joins 16 other states
and the rest of the industrialized world by taking this action – it is a
moment for sober reflection, not celebration.
"Many of us who have advocated for this position over the years have said there is a moral component to our opposition to the death penalty. For me, that is certainly the case. But that does not mean – nor should it mean – that we question the morality of those who favor capital punishment. I certainly don't. I know many people whom I deeply respect, including friends and family, that believe the death penalty is just. In fact, the issue knows no boundaries: not political party, not gender, age, race, or any other demographic. It is, at once, one of the most compelling and vexing issues of our time.
"My position on the appropriateness of the death penalty in our criminal justice system evolved over a long period of time. As a young man, I was a death penalty supporter. Then I spent years as a prosecutor and pursued dangerous felons in court, including murderers. In the trenches of a criminal courtroom, I learned firsthand that our system of justice is very imperfect. While it's a good system designed with the highest ideals of our democratic society in mind, like most of human experience, it is subject to the fallibility of those who participate in it. I saw people who were poorly served by their counsel. I saw people wrongly accused or mistakenly identified. I saw discrimination. In bearing witness to those things, I came to believe that doing away with the death penalty was the only way to ensure it would not be unfairly imposed.
"Another factor that led me to today is the 'unworkability' of Connecticut's death penalty law. In the last 52 years, only 2 people have been put to death in Connecticut – and both of them volunteered for it. Instead, the people of this state pay for appeal after appeal, and then watch time and again as defendants are marched in front of the cameras, giving them a platform of public attention they don't deserve. It is sordid attention that rips open never-quite-healed wounds. The 11 men currently on death row in Connecticut are far more likely to die of old age than they are to be put to death.
"As in past years, the campaign to abolish the death penalty in Connecticut has been led by dozens of family members of murder victims, and some of them were present as I signed this legislation today. In the words of one such survivor: 'Now is the time to start the process of healing, a process that could have been started decades earlier with the finality of a life sentence. We cannot afford to put on hold the lives of these secondary victims. We need to allow them to find a way as early as possible to begin to live again.' Perhaps that is the most compelling message of all.
"As our state moves beyond this divisive debate, I hope we can all redouble our efforts and common work to improve the fairness and integrity of our criminal justice system, and to minimize its fallibility."Source:http://deathpenaltynews.blogspot.com/2012/04/connecticut-abolishes-death-penalty.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DeathPenaltyNews+%28Death+Penalty+News%29
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