The above hyperlink brings you to "Goodsearch"- a search engine service that benefits various charities each time you you it! Anyone using the search is asked once to choose the charity that they would like their searches to donate money to-- this information is entered and each time you return to use Goodsearch, it will have the info saved and automatcally rack up money credits for that charity and it adds up!
Goodsearch was brought to my attention when I read that the Petit Family Foundation http://petitfamilyfoundation.org/ was one of the charities that used Goodsearch.
In fact just recently PFF was chosen as Goodsearch's "charity of the day".For those not familiar with The Petit Family Foundation, it is a local charity near and dear to our hearts here in Connecticut; it was started in the wake of the tragic murders of Jennifer Hawke Petit and her two daughters Hayley and Michaela, 19 and 11 years old respectively.
The crimes happened in Cheshire Ct in 2007 and the community, and indeed the state has been grieving these senseless murders ever since. The sole survivor, Dr William Petit, started the foundation shortly after the crimes as a way to carry the memory and spirit of his wife and daughters forward as well as doing positive things for others who are suffering from violent crime and chronic illness.
Last year PFF helped to fund a new shelter for battered women in New Britain Ct. This year they've donated a generous check to Ct Alive, an organization for victims of violent crime and their families. The foundation also awards educational scholarships to deserving youngsters, especially those pursuing science and medicine; Jennifer Petit was a pediatric nurse and Hayley Petit planned to pursue a medical career just like her dad, at Dartmouth, before her life was tragically cut short
So Please help honor this great charity by doing this very simple thing; Each time you use Goodsearch, after choosing PFF as your charity, the Petit foundation will receive a small amount of money, a bit more is credited when you use Goodsearch for online purchases via the "Goodsearch shopping" service choice. It quickly adds up! Search in good health!
GoodSearch - Web search, coupons, discounts & deals for charity!
Sep 25, 2009
Sep 24, 2009
Sep 18, 2009
TheDartmouth.com | Suspect in Petit murder case seeks change of venue for trial
What a bunch of ____ (Fill in the expletive of your choice) I'm sorry but this reprobate
aka Connecticut inmate Joshua Komisarjevsky and his State financed mouthpiece, have the audacity to complain about incendiary remarks?!
This is a classic sociopath behavior- and while we expect as much from this "defendant", what excuse does his attorney have? While he is more or less obligated to take the case as a Ct public defender, but nowhere does it say that he should personalize the proceedings and assail the sole surviving victim with nonsense recriminations. It is a sleazy, sophmoric attempt to pull attention away from what his client did to three innocent lives.
And I am not carelessly bandying around the term Sociopath here - One of the main characteristics of the socio' is a complete lack of remorse and accountability for THE HARM that THEY cause OTHERS. And a lifetime pattern of harming others - violating others rights, along with a general predatorial and/or parasitic existence, is also part of the constellation of traits. Indeed, blaming their victims is commonplace as despicable as that is (ie 'I am in prison awaiting a trial where I might be found guilty and ordered to die not as a DIRECT result of murdering a mother and her two children--- and nearly killing thier father - I am in this predicament because....'.well ok first I was saying it was my accomplice-he made me do it all, and now I am condemning the one surviving victim, for supposedly making it impossible for me to get a fair trial, due to his becoming an activist for victims of violent crime.
I mean just imagine this, as much of a stretch as it is for those of us with a soul ;
You are caught red handed at the scene after killing a mans wife and two daughters, sexually assaulting the eleven year old and beating her dad in the head with a bat multiple times, (causing severe Traumatic brain injury and life- threatening blood loss) -Then--- after your night of battery and sexual assault , You help to direct your co-accomplice to the nearest gas station via cellphone directions so he can purchase gallons upon gallons of gasoline, using the Petit family's own gas cans, in order to burn down these same peoples house, killing the entire family who are tied up inside, hopefully destroying any physical evidence of your crimes rapes assaults robbery in the fire.. This shows clear awareness of the plan to burn down the house and kill the family.
Then... After you've helped your buddy find his way back to the house thanks to directions from you -( because after all you are the one that lived in this town your whole life and as such brought this crime to this particular home in the first place) At some point you both decide that your buddy will bring The man's wife to their bank when it openes where you will jointly defraud her of 10,000 . Undoubtedly you threatened the terrified woman that if she tries to escape or tip off the police- you will kill her children and/or husband . This is your guarantee. Those children are back at the house tied to their beds, under your guard-the youngest you've already sexually assaulted at least once . You intend to kill them all anyway but sadly the kidnapped mother of two girls thinks that if she only gives you what you want ( she in fact gives you 5,000 more than you asked for! ) that you ll both take the money and leave. This is what you tell her will happen.
Instead you reward her by watching your pal choke her to death and you both pour gasoline on her body and on her girls, who are still alive. One of you throws a match, and You run out of the house that you just set ablaze, with the 15,000 and a bunch of the Petits belongings in tow.
You proceed to drive off straight into a police roadblock just ouside the familys driveway.
Cut forward two years;
You've been sitting on your butt in a private cell eating three square meals a day, given medication for real or imagined anxiety conditions- reading crime novels and being guarded 24 7 -protected from the other inmates -all at the expense of those very same taxpayers whose homes you robbed continuously since you were old enough to jimmy a lock.
And rather than having even the littlest bit of remorse for taking the lives of a mother and her two children -- You are whining over "incendiary remarks" made by this very man who you admittedly assaulted and whose family you molested and helped slaughter.
And as if that' wasn't enough, you are also complaining loudly that the man whose family you raped and helped to murder called you "an animal" an animal! within a statement he made to the Connecticut legislature regarding the crimes against his family as it related to the death penalty. Considering what you have done to this man I would say that he has shown amazing restraint by merely calling you animals. You beat him in the head with a bat as he lay sleeping in his own house-that alone made you an animal! In fact, many of us felt that that statement wasn't appropriate-because even animals do not generally kill their own kind for sadistic pleasure, nor for rape or greed. You are much lower than animals and unlike animals you have no intrinsic value in this world. You have completely forfeited the right to be insulted by comments someone used to describe you.
It is also Bill Petits absolute right to express his feelings about what kind of punishment is appropriate in this "case" He is the sole surviving victim of said case and the only remaining witness to you and your pals' night of savagery.
I'll tell you what; Mr Komisarjevsky, Mr. Hayes and thier lawyers better wake up and smell the coffee: With the publicity that they are bringing upon themselves with these kinds of statements not to mention their complete and utter lack of rectitude, they are only ensuring that they'll never find a jury in the country --never mind the state that isn't predisposed to giving them the most severe sentence possible. Its one thing to ask for a change of venue, the proper way, with decorum and a modicum of professionalism, but this loutish grandstanding and antagonizing of the surviving victim is only making the public loathe both they and their clients even more than they already did, based upon the facts of the case.
Remember These men were caught at the scene red handed ---One of them was fleeing the flaming house wearing just- murdered Hayley Petit's school cap! And both men were toting the girls childhood piggy banks full of change. (Despicable)
There is no question of the Police having the right guys.
There is nothing left for either of their defenses but to try and shift as much blame for the murders on each other-- which predictably they have both been doing from the moment they were taken into custody. That is after smashing several police cars trying to escape the murder scene in the Petit's family car.
One would imagine that after being caught in such a despicable position, these two and their respective attorneys would be as quiet and inconspicuous as is humanely possible in the months leading up to their trials. Instead, Mr Ulmann has done nothing but antagonize, threaten and bait the surviving victim and used each and every hearing as a platform to vent and orate against both the state-for having the nerve to seek the death penalty against his client, and Dr Petit for basically refusing to be a good little compliant victim and just shut up and go away.
Well, I would be more upset if I didn't know with certainty that they were all digging their own proverbial graves-- literally and spiritually in turn.
More to follow--- Not done by a long stretch.
aka Connecticut inmate Joshua Komisarjevsky and his State financed mouthpiece, have the audacity to complain about incendiary remarks?!
This is a classic sociopath behavior- and while we expect as much from this "defendant", what excuse does his attorney have? While he is more or less obligated to take the case as a Ct public defender, but nowhere does it say that he should personalize the proceedings and assail the sole surviving victim with nonsense recriminations. It is a sleazy, sophmoric attempt to pull attention away from what his client did to three innocent lives.
And I am not carelessly bandying around the term Sociopath here - One of the main characteristics of the socio' is a complete lack of remorse and accountability for THE HARM that THEY cause OTHERS. And a lifetime pattern of harming others - violating others rights, along with a general predatorial and/or parasitic existence, is also part of the constellation of traits. Indeed, blaming their victims is commonplace as despicable as that is (ie 'I am in prison awaiting a trial where I might be found guilty and ordered to die not as a DIRECT result of murdering a mother and her two children--- and nearly killing thier father - I am in this predicament because....'.well ok first I was saying it was my accomplice-he made me do it all, and now I am condemning the one surviving victim, for supposedly making it impossible for me to get a fair trial, due to his becoming an activist for victims of violent crime.
I mean just imagine this, as much of a stretch as it is for those of us with a soul ;
You are caught red handed at the scene after killing a mans wife and two daughters, sexually assaulting the eleven year old and beating her dad in the head with a bat multiple times, (causing severe Traumatic brain injury and life- threatening blood loss) -Then--- after your night of battery and sexual assault , You help to direct your co-accomplice to the nearest gas station via cellphone directions so he can purchase gallons upon gallons of gasoline, using the Petit family's own gas cans, in order to burn down these same peoples house, killing the entire family who are tied up inside, hopefully destroying any physical evidence of your crimes rapes assaults robbery in the fire.. This shows clear awareness of the plan to burn down the house and kill the family.
Then... After you've helped your buddy find his way back to the house thanks to directions from you -( because after all you are the one that lived in this town your whole life and as such brought this crime to this particular home in the first place) At some point you both decide that your buddy will bring The man's wife to their bank when it openes where you will jointly defraud her of 10,000 . Undoubtedly you threatened the terrified woman that if she tries to escape or tip off the police- you will kill her children and/or husband . This is your guarantee. Those children are back at the house tied to their beds, under your guard-the youngest you've already sexually assaulted at least once . You intend to kill them all anyway but sadly the kidnapped mother of two girls thinks that if she only gives you what you want ( she in fact gives you 5,000 more than you asked for! ) that you ll both take the money and leave. This is what you tell her will happen.
Instead you reward her by watching your pal choke her to death and you both pour gasoline on her body and on her girls, who are still alive. One of you throws a match, and You run out of the house that you just set ablaze, with the 15,000 and a bunch of the Petits belongings in tow.
You proceed to drive off straight into a police roadblock just ouside the familys driveway.
Cut forward two years;
You've been sitting on your butt in a private cell eating three square meals a day, given medication for real or imagined anxiety conditions- reading crime novels and being guarded 24 7 -protected from the other inmates -all at the expense of those very same taxpayers whose homes you robbed continuously since you were old enough to jimmy a lock.
And rather than having even the littlest bit of remorse for taking the lives of a mother and her two children -- You are whining over "incendiary remarks" made by this very man who you admittedly assaulted and whose family you molested and helped slaughter.
And as if that' wasn't enough, you are also complaining loudly that the man whose family you raped and helped to murder called you "an animal" an animal! within a statement he made to the Connecticut legislature regarding the crimes against his family as it related to the death penalty. Considering what you have done to this man I would say that he has shown amazing restraint by merely calling you animals. You beat him in the head with a bat as he lay sleeping in his own house-that alone made you an animal! In fact, many of us felt that that statement wasn't appropriate-because even animals do not generally kill their own kind for sadistic pleasure, nor for rape or greed. You are much lower than animals and unlike animals you have no intrinsic value in this world. You have completely forfeited the right to be insulted by comments someone used to describe you.
It is also Bill Petits absolute right to express his feelings about what kind of punishment is appropriate in this "case" He is the sole surviving victim of said case and the only remaining witness to you and your pals' night of savagery.
I'll tell you what; Mr Komisarjevsky, Mr. Hayes and thier lawyers better wake up and smell the coffee: With the publicity that they are bringing upon themselves with these kinds of statements not to mention their complete and utter lack of rectitude, they are only ensuring that they'll never find a jury in the country --never mind the state that isn't predisposed to giving them the most severe sentence possible. Its one thing to ask for a change of venue, the proper way, with decorum and a modicum of professionalism, but this loutish grandstanding and antagonizing of the surviving victim is only making the public loathe both they and their clients even more than they already did, based upon the facts of the case.
Remember These men were caught at the scene red handed ---One of them was fleeing the flaming house wearing just- murdered Hayley Petit's school cap! And both men were toting the girls childhood piggy banks full of change. (Despicable)
There is no question of the Police having the right guys.
There is nothing left for either of their defenses but to try and shift as much blame for the murders on each other-- which predictably they have both been doing from the moment they were taken into custody. That is after smashing several police cars trying to escape the murder scene in the Petit's family car.
One would imagine that after being caught in such a despicable position, these two and their respective attorneys would be as quiet and inconspicuous as is humanely possible in the months leading up to their trials. Instead, Mr Ulmann has done nothing but antagonize, threaten and bait the surviving victim and used each and every hearing as a platform to vent and orate against both the state-for having the nerve to seek the death penalty against his client, and Dr Petit for basically refusing to be a good little compliant victim and just shut up and go away.
Well, I would be more upset if I didn't know with certainty that they were all digging their own proverbial graves-- literally and spiritually in turn.
More to follow--- Not done by a long stretch.
Sep 17, 2009
Questions about the Murder of Annie Le at Yale
New information that the suspect in Yale graduate student Annie Le's murder- once belonged to an Asian club in High school has sparked suspicion that he may have had a life-long attraction to Asian women.
Another possible motive and one that I personally wondered about early on in the investigation is a scenario involving a dissagreement over the way the animals were being treated in the lab where both the victim and the suspect worked. Apparently, it is just now come out that there was in fact a very heated argument between these two on this very issue in the days leading up to the murder. I hate to say it but this was literally the first thing that came to my mind when I found out the type of lab that they both worked in and a few other clues that I'll talk about later. +
It looks like they will be arresting this guy as soon as the DNA evidence is confirmed as belonging to him. He is reportedly staying alone at a motel being watched round the clock by the FBI as more warrants were served at his apartment today and the police are still there collecting evidence.
Another possible motive and one that I personally wondered about early on in the investigation is a scenario involving a dissagreement over the way the animals were being treated in the lab where both the victim and the suspect worked. Apparently, it is just now come out that there was in fact a very heated argument between these two on this very issue in the days leading up to the murder. I hate to say it but this was literally the first thing that came to my mind when I found out the type of lab that they both worked in and a few other clues that I'll talk about later. +
It looks like they will be arresting this guy as soon as the DNA evidence is confirmed as belonging to him. He is reportedly staying alone at a motel being watched round the clock by the FBI as more warrants were served at his apartment today and the police are still there collecting evidence.
Sep 16, 2009
Lab tech Raymond Clark 3rd in custody for DNA tests over murder of student Annie Le
Lab tech Raymond Clark 3rd in custody for DNA tests over murder of student Annie Le
Some details about this suspect are beginning to emerge that paint a picture of a classic abuser/predator...
-More later
Some details about this suspect are beginning to emerge that paint a picture of a classic abuser/predator...
-More later
Sep 15, 2009
Police serve warrants in Yale grad student slaying
It looks like an arrest is likley imminent in the murder of Yale Graduate student Annie Le; multiple warrants were served today at Raymond Clark lll's Middletown apartment, which he reportedly shares with his girlfriend/fiancee.
Police are being very careful about saying that Clark is only a "person of interest" at this time and that they are not arresting him, they are merely looking for evidence related to the murder of Miss Le.
Police serve warrants in Yale grad student slaying
Police are being very careful about saying that Clark is only a "person of interest" at this time and that they are not arresting him, they are merely looking for evidence related to the murder of Miss Le.
Police serve warrants in Yale grad student slaying
Sep 13, 2009
Yale student Annie Le Body found
New Haven Police found missing Yale student Annie Le's body today, she was literally stuffed into a wall partition within the Yale University lab building where she was last seen.
Video cameras outside of the building had shown Ms Le entering the Lab but never exiting. This video evidence had produced an ominous cast upon what was technically a "missing person" case until today's terrible discovery.
Word is that Police have a suspect.
Video cameras outside of the building had shown Ms Le entering the Lab but never exiting. This video evidence had produced an ominous cast upon what was technically a "missing person" case until today's terrible discovery.
Word is that Police have a suspect.
Hartford Site Searched For Missing Yale Student
This situation is looking pretty grim with the recent discovery of bloody clothing in the lab where this young girl was last seen. This article from The Cool Justice Report a local blog in theNew Haven area, has the most up to date information that I can find and its also got several links that are important to the case.
The Cool Justice Report: Hartford Site Searched For Missing Yale Student
The Cool Justice Report: Hartford Site Searched For Missing Yale Student
Sep 10, 2009
Kevin Cosgrove - 911 victim and hero.
I was researching an article called "the falling man" recently and I came upon a tape of several 911 calls that were made by the victims trapped in the burning towers on Sept 11th 2001.After a long deliberation, going back and forth on it, I decided to listen; It was very difficult, very painful and life-changing. At times I literally experienced the physical symptoms that the caller was enduring, due to the smoke and heat coming from the fires where they were trapped on the 103rd floor of the South tower twin tower offices.
Just as another caller expressed so aptly, At the end of Mr Cosgroves call, "I found myself not wanting to let go of him".And like many other people, hearing this call has forever changed me and my entire perspective of that terrible day.
The italicized text at the bottom of this post is the condolence message that I left at Kevin Cosgroves online 911 memorial site. I've supplied a link to his 911 call with corresponding video in this post's title header above. Kevin' desperate phone conversation with a 9-1-1 operator ultimately captured what were to be his last words ever spoken as the South tower collapsed, and as the only one of it;s kind it was used as evidence in the Moussaui trial, the only person ever prosecuted for the Sept 11th crimes..
After reading this post, if you wish to listen to the tape, it is available in the youtube link above. I must warn that no matter who you are, Listening to it will be an extremely emotional experience, and will forever change you. At first, I regretted having listened to it, it hurt to hear this poor man's physical struggle with the encroaching smoke and depleted oxegen, let alone his emotional frustration at being stuck with noone being able to tell him that the nearest fireman were anywhere near him or if they were even attempting to get up that high. (I believe that the highest floor that fireman got to was to the 78th floor where a radio call was made by a firefightter asking for water or back up to fight a bad fire on that floor,)
Like most other people was completely unprepared for the ending of Mr Cosgroves call. I didnt realize that the tape captured the tower falling and was literally gripping the arms of my chair as I heard the ominous rumble of the building as it began floor by floor to collpase- it happened it was so raw, so real, and I couldnt bear to be so close to this man's pain. But I came to realize that I should not regret for I came to see that it was for me, a necessary pain a pain that ultimately transformed 911 from an awful tragic event to something altogether more real, more personal, more human and more true. And we owe the victims at the very least truth by embracing the complete and unvarnished reality of thier experience.
The pain that many of us feel upon hearing these callers speak about those horrific conditions in the towers, about their fear over their likely, imminent deaths, the distress in having to leave their families and loved ones, all of this made us feel as if we knew them. By sharing in the most intimate last moments of their lives, this has allowed us to honor their experience without the whitewash effect of news camera shots of a burning buildings thousands of feet away in the air.
Even the sudden and awful collapse of the towers into veritable dust bowl like much that happened that day was somehow surreal- Its not that we couldn't and didn't consider the horror of what was likely going on way up there where our eyes could not see, it just wasn't in our face, so to speak, and we gratefully took advantage of that kind bit of distance, because really, the horror might have been too much for us to bear.
The voices of the people on these tapes however will be with us forever The people themselves will thus reside in us. We carry them now.
Many people have asked why on earth I listened and why I was encouraging others to listen when it was so sad and so awful. I try to explain that sometimes circumstance presents an opportunity where pain can serve as an engine for greater understanding and ultimately, growth, both individually and then as a community and society. We dont often get a chance to understand the suffering involved by victims of violent crime0-and that is what 911 was--a violent crime of huge proportion, committed against thousands of people.
These tapes and the nature of the Internet itself, have opened up a door for us. I do not suggest listening as voyeurs, but as caring witnesses . We can use the powerful emotions that are triggered in us- the empathy, the anger and the pain -to bring us to a new level of awareness; about crime, tragedy, about justice, Lifeand death. We can then use this awareness wisely and do only positive things with it. These good things shall become the legacy of those who perished that day-victims and heroes all.
So many people related that problems in their lives that had seemed so important prior to listening to the tape of Kevins desperate last minutes on earthl, immediately became nothing at all And this experience was not a rare thing- many many cited this experience as a turning point in their lives, marked by the experience of listening to these tapes. Indeed they expressed gratitude to Mr Cosgrove and his family- for giving them an opportunity to rethink the value of their lives.
Every day, every moment all of our loved ones must be appreciated, for we never know how much time we have left. As daunting as it is This is a beautiful legacy to leave, albeit we must leap through the fire, so to speak, to get to it.
Note: The link to the 911 tape itself is at the title header of this post - below is a copy of my entry on Kevins memorial page)
Leave a memorial comment yourself for I am certain that the family reads them and I am hopeful that reading them as they crop up every other day at least, provides solace to them knowing that thier beloved has had such a positive, albeit bittersweet- impact on so many.
Rest in Peace Kevin.
The entry in italics was taken from he 911 memorial page found via the link below;
www.9-11heroes.us/v/Kevin_M_Cosgrove.php/
Dear Mr Cosgrove and loved ones,
I heard the tape of Kevin's 9-1-1 call for the first time yesterday while researching the "falling man" article in Esquire magazine. I cried much of the night, and my heart literally felt ripped open. I made myself listen to it again today, hoping that the shock had worn off just a bit and wanting to feel somehow closer to this man who was so courageous and heroic in his love for his family and his will to survive for them.
At first, I felt like a voyeur and wondered whether this tape and others like it should be made available for the public to hear, was it not just re-traumatizing everyone I wondered?
But I realized as the day passed that I, and all of us need to hear these calls and voices of those who suffered and perished on that day, because there is really no other way to fully understand the unvarnished reality of the suffering and loss that this terroristic act wrought upon so many decent human beings.
Indeed, because of this tape, September 11th is now more real to me today almost 7 years after the crimes, than it was in the weeks and months following the actual tragedy. At the time,I just couldn't allow myself to listen to to many of the awful details of sept 11 and even for a few years afterward. I had recently been the victim of a violent crime and indeed I was still involved in the court process for that case. So when Sept 11 brought its horror and violence to myself and the world I just had to numb myself a bit for otherwise I felt I would surely crumble from the sheer magnitude of the pain and suffering involved in the tragedy. I was too sensitive normally and at that point I was in the eye of the PTSD storm from the crimes wrought against me only months earlier.
So for the first time perhaps ever in my life I put a shell around my heart and wouldn't allow myself to listen or read too much about the horror of this happening.
Perhaps only now, 8 years later, was I truly ready.
I want to say that I too feel that I now know this man who before listening to this tape-was a stranger. He now dwells in my heart and in my soul . His determination, his strength, his humor, his fear his humanness really, are now forever a part of me.
I have prayed earnestly to God that he holds Kevin in his peaceful and loving embrace forever and that the entire Cosgrove family be given peace and comfort while holding onto the memory of this by all acounts, devoted humorous loving-and now we know- courageous man.
*** Posted by Laurel O'keefe ***
Posttraumatic Growth: A New Perspective on Psychotraumatology
In light of the upcoming anniversery of Sept 11, this article becomes even more meaningful.
Here is a quote from the tezt;
" These changes include improved relationships, new possibilities for one's life, a greater appreciation for life, a greater sense of personal strength and spiritual development. There appears to be a basic paradox apprehended by trauma survivors who report these aspects of posttraumatic growth: Their losses have produced valuable gains. We also find that other paradoxes are involved. For example: "I am more vulnerable, yet stronger." Individuals who experience traumatic life events tend to report--not surprisingly--an increased sense of vulnerability, congruent with the experience of suffering in ways they may not have been able to control or prevent
However, these same people also may report an increased sense of their own capacities to survive and prevail (Calhoun and Tedeschi, 1999). Another experience often reported by trauma survivors is a need to talk about the traumatic events, which sets into motion tests of interpersonal relationships--some pass, others fail. They also may find themselves becoming more comfortable with intimacy and having a greater sense of compassion for others who experience life difficulties.
Individuals who face trauma may be more likely to become cognitively engaged with fundamental existential questions about death and the purpose of life. A commonly reported change is for the individual to value the smaller things in life more and also to consider important changes in the religious, spiritual and existential components of philosophies of life". "
Here is a quote from the tezt;
" These changes include improved relationships, new possibilities for one's life, a greater appreciation for life, a greater sense of personal strength and spiritual development. There appears to be a basic paradox apprehended by trauma survivors who report these aspects of posttraumatic growth: Their losses have produced valuable gains. We also find that other paradoxes are involved. For example: "I am more vulnerable, yet stronger." Individuals who experience traumatic life events tend to report--not surprisingly--an increased sense of vulnerability, congruent with the experience of suffering in ways they may not have been able to control or prevent
However, these same people also may report an increased sense of their own capacities to survive and prevail (Calhoun and Tedeschi, 1999). Another experience often reported by trauma survivors is a need to talk about the traumatic events, which sets into motion tests of interpersonal relationships--some pass, others fail. They also may find themselves becoming more comfortable with intimacy and having a greater sense of compassion for others who experience life difficulties.
Individuals who face trauma may be more likely to become cognitively engaged with fundamental existential questions about death and the purpose of life. A commonly reported change is for the individual to value the smaller things in life more and also to consider important changes in the religious, spiritual and existential components of philosophies of life". "
Sep 5, 2009
An issue of class?
Attorney Ulmanns attempt to inject racism and classism into the fray in response to the prosecution's request for one, or two simultaneous trials for the two men accused of killing the Petit family- is nothing but a cheap and ugly ploy. Its also ironic: Before continuing along this vein Mr Ulmann would do well to consider that if god forbid a violent crime should befall him or his family, according to his absurd conclusions, this should immediately render all legal considerations asked for or granted him as a victim, accordingly suspect-- due to his tax bracket and education level.
.
This kind of tactic, used by Ulmann in previous hearings as well, is a perfect illustration of the sleazy provocateur lawyering that gives defense attorneys such a bad name. Indeed, many of today's more intelligent and savvy attorneys have distanced themselves from this type of baiting and victim bashing, opting for a more sensitive approach towards their clients victim and their families. In the end, Ulmanns willy-nilly contraryism betrays a desperation, a grasping at straws for anything that might deflect attention from his clients culpability for the assault and murder of three human beings, even when it means going after the sole survivor of his client's carnage.
In many Eastern religions, ones behavior and moral integrity displayed within ones chosen career path matters very much. If someone directly or indirectly hurts others or causes harm within the performance of their 'jobs" this creates very bad karma, which then sits with that person forever .The old standard lawyer-mentality that anything goes in court because Its my job --is nothing but a self- serving lie used to rationalize a lot of very ugly behavior --It also serves to help save face with friends and neighbors when they ask ' how could you defend such a horrible criminal?!' If you're as good at deceiving yourself as you are others you might use it to assuage whatever remains of your own consciences. In Mr Ullmanns case, I daresay that ship has sailed.
Kudos to Dr Petit and the Hawke and Petit families for taking the high road and not allowing these facile and ugly manipulations to deter them from their ultimate pursuit of justice for Jennifer, Hayley Micheala-and Bill himself. Lets never forget that this is what it's all about.
http://shellysindland.wordpress.com/2009/09/03/defense-in-the-cheshire-home-invasion-claims-lone-survivor-is-getting-special-treatment-from-the-state/
http://www.myrecordjournal.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=20366620&BRD=2755&PAG=461&dept_id=592709&rfi=6
.
This kind of tactic, used by Ulmann in previous hearings as well, is a perfect illustration of the sleazy provocateur lawyering that gives defense attorneys such a bad name. Indeed, many of today's more intelligent and savvy attorneys have distanced themselves from this type of baiting and victim bashing, opting for a more sensitive approach towards their clients victim and their families. In the end, Ulmanns willy-nilly contraryism betrays a desperation, a grasping at straws for anything that might deflect attention from his clients culpability for the assault and murder of three human beings, even when it means going after the sole survivor of his client's carnage.
In many Eastern religions, ones behavior and moral integrity displayed within ones chosen career path matters very much. If someone directly or indirectly hurts others or causes harm within the performance of their 'jobs" this creates very bad karma, which then sits with that person forever .The old standard lawyer-mentality that anything goes in court because Its my job --is nothing but a self- serving lie used to rationalize a lot of very ugly behavior --It also serves to help save face with friends and neighbors when they ask ' how could you defend such a horrible criminal?!' If you're as good at deceiving yourself as you are others you might use it to assuage whatever remains of your own consciences. In Mr Ullmanns case, I daresay that ship has sailed.
Kudos to Dr Petit and the Hawke and Petit families for taking the high road and not allowing these facile and ugly manipulations to deter them from their ultimate pursuit of justice for Jennifer, Hayley Micheala-and Bill himself. Lets never forget that this is what it's all about.
http://shellysindland.wordpress.com/2009/09/03/defense-in-the-cheshire-home-invasion-claims-lone-survivor-is-getting-special-treatment-from-the-state/
http://www.myrecordjournal.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=20366620&BRD=2755&PAG=461&dept_id=592709&rfi=6
Sep 3, 2009
Prosecutors seek 1 trial for two Petit family murderers
The judge did not rule on this yet so lets hope that he does the right thing for The Petit and Hawke families.
Prosecutors seek 1 trial for Conn. slay suspects -- Courant.com
The judge did not rule on this yet so lets hope that he does the right thing for The Petit and Hawke families.
Sep 2, 2009
Why Jaycee Lee Dugard never tried to escape
The above linked article is about Jaycee Lee Dugards strange yet classic case of Stockhom Syndrome,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome the condition that likely led her to become complacent and even somewhat attached to her captor for over 17 years. Variations of this syndrome are commonplace with battered women and others in controlling and destructive relationships. It is often a big part of what keeps a person bound to thier abuser...much to the mystification of others.
http://counsellingresource.com/quizzes/stockholm/index.html
As the various linked articles explain, Stockolm syndrome is a really nothing more than a very base survival mechanism-- and it is one with which I am personally familiar. As such, I believe that I understand it in a way that few others can viscerally as opposed to simply intellectually.
My hope here is that by encouraging awareness about this pervasive syndrome, more people will recognize the hallnarks of these kinds of "relationships" and thus be in a better position to help a person being victimized, be it a battered woman, someone in a controlling domineering relationship, an abused child or teen or even someone who has been abducted, as this young woman was. As is often the case with child abductees, Jaycee Lee was exposed to people from the outside world on various occasions throughout her imprisonment - yet she did not directly solicit help nor divulge her real identitiy. There is no doubt in my mind that through the interactions she did have someones gut instinct told them that something was amiss, but they likely couldnt put thier finger on exactly what was wrong.
Today My prayers and thoughts are with this young woman and her family...May each day bring her more healing and comfort and closer to discovering who Jaycee Lee Dugard truly is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome the condition that likely led her to become complacent and even somewhat attached to her captor for over 17 years. Variations of this syndrome are commonplace with battered women and others in controlling and destructive relationships. It is often a big part of what keeps a person bound to thier abuser...much to the mystification of others.
http://counsellingresource.com/quizzes/stockholm/index.html
As the various linked articles explain, Stockolm syndrome is a really nothing more than a very base survival mechanism-- and it is one with which I am personally familiar. As such, I believe that I understand it in a way that few others can viscerally as opposed to simply intellectually.
My hope here is that by encouraging awareness about this pervasive syndrome, more people will recognize the hallnarks of these kinds of "relationships" and thus be in a better position to help a person being victimized, be it a battered woman, someone in a controlling domineering relationship, an abused child or teen or even someone who has been abducted, as this young woman was. As is often the case with child abductees, Jaycee Lee was exposed to people from the outside world on various occasions throughout her imprisonment - yet she did not directly solicit help nor divulge her real identitiy. There is no doubt in my mind that through the interactions she did have someones gut instinct told them that something was amiss, but they likely couldnt put thier finger on exactly what was wrong.
Today My prayers and thoughts are with this young woman and her family...May each day bring her more healing and comfort and closer to discovering who Jaycee Lee Dugard truly is.
Aug 23, 2009
Killing Tied to VH1 Show Raises New Concerts About Reality TV - NYTimes.com
Well it looks like the tentacles of partner violence have now reached out to the world of Reality TV.
It really shouldnt surprise us, violence against women has long been rampant within both the Hollywood film industry as well as the music industry and the violence would seem to be mirroring 'regular" society in an upward growth surge as of late. Experts blame the poor economy as the probable catalyst but I'm not convinced especially when one considers that folks in the entertainment industry are less likely to feel the pinch of an economic crunch.
What is shocking is the level of brutality involved with this particular crime. This victim was literally beaten to death and then dismembered in an attempt to hide her identity-rather idiotic considering this is the age of DNA after all.
What wasnt a surprise was the fact that man suspected of killing her had a history of committing Domestic violence and a history of getting off for said crimes with a veritable slap on the wrist.
How many women have to die before our courts get it right and change their attitude towards the precursor crimes to murders like these?!
It really shouldnt surprise us, violence against women has long been rampant within both the Hollywood film industry as well as the music industry and the violence would seem to be mirroring 'regular" society in an upward growth surge as of late. Experts blame the poor economy as the probable catalyst but I'm not convinced especially when one considers that folks in the entertainment industry are less likely to feel the pinch of an economic crunch.
What is shocking is the level of brutality involved with this particular crime. This victim was literally beaten to death and then dismembered in an attempt to hide her identity-rather idiotic considering this is the age of DNA after all.
What wasnt a surprise was the fact that man suspected of killing her had a history of committing Domestic violence and a history of getting off for said crimes with a veritable slap on the wrist.
How many women have to die before our courts get it right and change their attitude towards the precursor crimes to murders like these?!
Aug 20, 2009
Reality-TV star charged with U.S. model’s murder armed and in Canada: police
Well it looks like the tentacles of partner violence have reached out to the world of Reality TV.
It really shouldnt surprise us, violence against women has long been rampant within both the Hollywood film industry as well as the music industry and that violence would seem to be mirroring 'regular" society in upward growth surge as of late. Experts blame the poor economy as the probable catalyst for this but I'm not convinced.
What is shocking is the level of brutality involved with this particular crime. This reality star victim was literally beaten to death and dismembered in an attempt to hide her identity-rather idiotic considering this is the age of DNA after all.
What wasnt a surprise was the fact that man suspected of killing her has a history of committing Domestic violence and a history of getting off for said crimes with a veritable slap on the wrist.
How many women have to die before our courts get it right and change their attitude towards the precursor crimes that happen before murders like these?
It really shouldnt surprise us, violence against women has long been rampant within both the Hollywood film industry as well as the music industry and that violence would seem to be mirroring 'regular" society in upward growth surge as of late. Experts blame the poor economy as the probable catalyst for this but I'm not convinced.
What is shocking is the level of brutality involved with this particular crime. This reality star victim was literally beaten to death and dismembered in an attempt to hide her identity-rather idiotic considering this is the age of DNA after all.
What wasnt a surprise was the fact that man suspected of killing her has a history of committing Domestic violence and a history of getting off for said crimes with a veritable slap on the wrist.
How many women have to die before our courts get it right and change their attitude towards the precursor crimes that happen before murders like these?
Aug 18, 2009
Aug 14, 2009
Detroit serial rapist was out on parole for murder
Yes you read it correctly- a man recently released on parole for murder - raped five women in detroit Michigan.
This kind of thing used to break my heart, but now it makes me livid and more committed than ever to improving victims rights in this country..
This kind of thing used to break my heart, but now it makes me livid and more committed than ever to improving victims rights in this country..
Aug 10, 2009
TheDartmouth.com | Attorneys prepare for Petit trial
A pretty accurate summation of the latest developments in the Petit family murder case, as reported in the Dartmouth College newspaper. Hayley Petit, 17 was bound for Dartmouth that fateful summer and indeed would have likely been writing for that same paper has she been allowed to live- instead her life was cruelly and senselessly taken during a home invasion and sexual assault that happened in Cheshire two years ago.
Despite months adding up to years now I still cant get these crimes out of the forefront of my minds eye.
I suppose it has to do ith justice not being served yet- we are being held in a emotional limbo, waiting for the two men (who were caught red handed by Police fleeing the house in the Petits car) to be tried.
The latest estimate is January 2010 for jury selection to begin on only one of the two men's trials.
As the article explains there has been a request from the Petit hawke families to try these two men at the same time, perhaps in separate courtrooms-this in order to not have to sit through listening to two different sets of identical testimony re theyre loved ones last hours on earth.
Despite months adding up to years now I still cant get these crimes out of the forefront of my minds eye.
I suppose it has to do ith justice not being served yet- we are being held in a emotional limbo, waiting for the two men (who were caught red handed by Police fleeing the house in the Petits car) to be tried.
The latest estimate is January 2010 for jury selection to begin on only one of the two men's trials.
As the article explains there has been a request from the Petit hawke families to try these two men at the same time, perhaps in separate courtrooms-this in order to not have to sit through listening to two different sets of identical testimony re theyre loved ones last hours on earth.
Aug 5, 2009
Pennsylvania shooter had online blog
I am posting a link to the LA fitness club shooter George Sodini's blog for the specific purpose
of raising awareness about the personality type that often commit these kinds of crimes
against women. There is usually a long pattern of a hatred and/or resentment towards
women, and this man was apparently no exception to this general rule of thumb.
The Internet and blogging in particular have changed the way that we see violent crime. Never before has the general public been able to so easily access the inner worlds of those that committ such brutal acts of violence. Hopefully we will learn from these men that kill rather than sensationalize them and thier crimes.
As you'll see, Sodini's blog writings reveal a man with self esteem issues and mostly
closeted persecutory feelings towards women, beginning with his mother who according to his writings is a classic domineering/ critical type.
While I realize that we cannot all be armchair psychologists to every man that we come into contact with, a good basic knowledge of the personality traits and behavioral warning signs of predators and other men that commit violence will only help us in identifying someone who could be potentially dangerous to ourself or others.
This particular killer was very intelligent, had a ten year career at a successful law firm and was a fit and youngish looking 48 year old. As this story unfold and acquaintances come forward, I expect to hear that this man had exhibited some very clear cut disturbing behaviors towards/with women over the course of his lifetime and this is why, as his own blog entries claim he was "rejected by millions of single woman in his life."
In one blog entry, he mentions a woman at the gym looking at him a certain way, implying that she was attracted to him, he quickly went on to discount it saying..." but so what, even if I did
go out with her, it would be one or two dates and that would be it, just like it always is".
This is very telling information as Soldini was a fairly attractive man with a good career and should have had no problems dating women-but claims to never made it past the first few dates.
There were obviously warning signs and behavioral signposts that scared his dates off. And once we read his journal we can easily surmise that his all consuming resentment towards women was palpable
of raising awareness about the personality type that often commit these kinds of crimes
against women. There is usually a long pattern of a hatred and/or resentment towards
women, and this man was apparently no exception to this general rule of thumb.
The Internet and blogging in particular have changed the way that we see violent crime. Never before has the general public been able to so easily access the inner worlds of those that committ such brutal acts of violence. Hopefully we will learn from these men that kill rather than sensationalize them and thier crimes.
As you'll see, Sodini's blog writings reveal a man with self esteem issues and mostly
closeted persecutory feelings towards women, beginning with his mother who according to his writings is a classic domineering/ critical type.
While I realize that we cannot all be armchair psychologists to every man that we come into contact with, a good basic knowledge of the personality traits and behavioral warning signs of predators and other men that commit violence will only help us in identifying someone who could be potentially dangerous to ourself or others.
This particular killer was very intelligent, had a ten year career at a successful law firm and was a fit and youngish looking 48 year old. As this story unfold and acquaintances come forward, I expect to hear that this man had exhibited some very clear cut disturbing behaviors towards/with women over the course of his lifetime and this is why, as his own blog entries claim he was "rejected by millions of single woman in his life."
In one blog entry, he mentions a woman at the gym looking at him a certain way, implying that she was attracted to him, he quickly went on to discount it saying..." but so what, even if I did
go out with her, it would be one or two dates and that would be it, just like it always is".
This is very telling information as Soldini was a fairly attractive man with a good career and should have had no problems dating women-but claims to never made it past the first few dates.
There were obviously warning signs and behavioral signposts that scared his dates off. And once we read his journal we can easily surmise that his all consuming resentment towards women was palpable
Your Condolences: Who Are The LA Fitness Shooting Victims?
Two articles about the victims of todays tragic shooting in Pennsylvania, (see link above
and below).
www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_636883.html
and below).
www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_636883.html
Pennsylvania Gym Shooter Kept Online Diary in Preparation for Attack
Details are now emerging about the shooter in last nights attack in a Pennsylvania gym. Apparently, the number of victims has risen to four women in addition to the shooter killing himself - Original reports claimed that four total persons had died.
And as I suspected, as is almost always the case, the shooter was an estranged boyfriend of
one of the wounded women - That woman was shot in the thigh and carried outside to safety
by a male gym member who saw her bleeding from the leg and trying to escape the area
where the shooting occurred. Reportedly she kept saying " he is going to kill me, he is going
to kill me." before she lost consciousness. She was taken to a local area hospital along with 15 other victims.
And as I suspected, as is almost always the case, the shooter was an estranged boyfriend of
one of the wounded women - That woman was shot in the thigh and carried outside to safety
by a male gym member who saw her bleeding from the leg and trying to escape the area
where the shooting occurred. Reportedly she kept saying " he is going to kill me, he is going
to kill me." before she lost consciousness. She was taken to a local area hospital along with 15 other victims.
Silent gunman's Pa. health club shooting kills four
A horrible crime has happened at an LA Fitness center in Bridgeville Pennsylvania. A man entered the gym with a duffel bag, went straight to an exercise class full of women, shut off the lights and opened fire with a semi automatic weapon.Over fifty shots were fired, two women died at the scene and one died on her way to the hospital. The cowardly shooter killed himself as well. A note of some kind was found in his duffel bag.
Police are not releasing any information, until all of the families have been contacted, but it looks like the shooter was a member of the gym.
For those who are spiritually inclined, please say a prayer for the victims and their families, as well as the many women that were wounded and traumatized - several are in critical condition.
More as this story develops.
Jul 28, 2009
Conn. home-invasion survivor faces court ordeal
Another good article covering the recent hearing on the Petit case..
Dr. William Petit speaks outside courthouse
This is a video from outside the New haven Superior Court building where Dr Petit and other members of the Hawke, Petit and Renn families gathered after the day's hearing. Dr Petit had asked to make a statement at the hearing itself but after objections from the defense and subsequent discussions between Judge Damiani the defense and the prosecutor, he did not make the statement.
For this reason he was forced to read only part of the prepared statement outside of the building where a sizable portion of the media had gathered.
Below is a quote taken from his statement that pretty well sums up his message to the court and the state of Connecticut. This man's courage is a great example to all of us: Instead of simply relenting and giving in to the broken and ineffectual justice system that has become the status quo here in Connecticut, he is doing everything in his power to bring attention to the failings where they exist in an effort to replace them with reforms that put the victim first.
"I suggest that our whole system is out of kilter and victims rights are totally abused."
Dr Bill Petit
For this reason he was forced to read only part of the prepared statement outside of the building where a sizable portion of the media had gathered.
Below is a quote taken from his statement that pretty well sums up his message to the court and the state of Connecticut. This man's courage is a great example to all of us: Instead of simply relenting and giving in to the broken and ineffectual justice system that has become the status quo here in Connecticut, he is doing everything in his power to bring attention to the failings where they exist in an effort to replace them with reforms that put the victim first.
"I suggest that our whole system is out of kilter and victims rights are totally abused."
Dr Bill Petit
Jul 22, 2009
Cheshire murder suspects head to court
A more comprehensive article regarding yesterday's hearing in New Haven on the Petit case.
Jul 21, 2009
Jul 20, 2009
Jul 19, 2009
Thousands run in Plainville for Petit Family Foundation
Picured above is Dr William Petit Jr, founder of the Petit Family Foundation, the Race day's beneficiary.
The 5k Race-day day in Plainville was a great success and a lot of fun! The event, which was the second of its kind, had an even bigger turnout than last year with an estimated 3000 people attending!
It will likely be an annual tradition for many years to come. Kudos to every volunteer , organizer and every helpful soul that made the day such a success!
Dr. William A. Petit, two years later
This is an interview with Dr William Petit, two years after the crimes that took
his family and inadvertently sparked an en-masse philanthropic movement of sorts here in Connecticut.
You'll see a perfect example of this communal philanthropy in the rapidly approaching "5K Race day" scheduled for this Sunday afternoon in Plainville.
Dr Petit grew up in Plainville and has resided there with his parents since the crimes: His parents have very strong ties to the town and the surrounding communities.
The 5k race is in fact the second of its kind, having proved so successful in its
first launch (in 08) which the founders and organizers set their sites on making it an annual event.
Last July, thousands of people turned out on one of the hottest days of the summer, many of them to run in a substantial foot course, in an effort to show their support for the family and the Petit Family Foundation,
http://www.petitfamilyfoundation.org/ , the nonprofit charity that Dr Petit created in the memory of his wife and daughters, all of whom were very active in volunteer work and community outreach.
The Petit Family Foundation has a broad focus: donated and raised funds from events like the 5K Race- day will go to help victims of violent crime as well as people suffering with chronic illness, such as Multiple Sclerosis . The Petit girls and their mom were very involved with the M.S Foundation beginning when Jennifer Hawke Petit was diagnosed with MS during the mid- nineties.
According to Dr Petit, in the beginning the girls wanted to help their mom they were worried she would die from the disease, but as they grew older their focus became a desire to help anyone who suffered with this challenging and poorly understood disease.
Dr Petit wished to carry on the girls spirit of volunteerism and idealism long after their deaths. It would seem that he has done an excellent job, and helped an awful lot of people in the proccess.
his family and inadvertently sparked an en-masse philanthropic movement of sorts here in Connecticut.
You'll see a perfect example of this communal philanthropy in the rapidly approaching "5K Race day" scheduled for this Sunday afternoon in Plainville.
Dr Petit grew up in Plainville and has resided there with his parents since the crimes: His parents have very strong ties to the town and the surrounding communities.
The 5k race is in fact the second of its kind, having proved so successful in its
first launch (in 08) which the founders and organizers set their sites on making it an annual event.
Last July, thousands of people turned out on one of the hottest days of the summer, many of them to run in a substantial foot course, in an effort to show their support for the family and the Petit Family Foundation,
http://www.petitfamilyfoundation.org/ , the nonprofit charity that Dr Petit created in the memory of his wife and daughters, all of whom were very active in volunteer work and community outreach.
The Petit Family Foundation has a broad focus: donated and raised funds from events like the 5K Race- day will go to help victims of violent crime as well as people suffering with chronic illness, such as Multiple Sclerosis . The Petit girls and their mom were very involved with the M.S Foundation beginning when Jennifer Hawke Petit was diagnosed with MS during the mid- nineties.
According to Dr Petit, in the beginning the girls wanted to help their mom they were worried she would die from the disease, but as they grew older their focus became a desire to help anyone who suffered with this challenging and poorly understood disease.
Dr Petit wished to carry on the girls spirit of volunteerism and idealism long after their deaths. It would seem that he has done an excellent job, and helped an awful lot of people in the proccess.
Jul 13, 2009
Road race to benefit Petit Family Foundation
Looks like Race day is upon us - The 2nd Annual Petit Family Foundation 5K
Road race will be held this Sunday. July 19th in Plainville Connecticut!
The Race supports a great cause and promises to be a fun day! Besides the 5k
race and "fitness walk", there are activities and award ceremonies for kids and adults and many refreshments to boot!
Please come and bring your friends and/or family - You can register for either
of the day's races in advance via the Petit family 5k Race day site below, or in person the morning of the race prior to 8;30 AM.
For non- runners and those of us with creaky knees and such, there
is a gentler 'fitness walk" which is great exersize and allows you to take a more active part in the days events.
For those who don't know, The Petit Family Foundation is a locally based non-profit that helps support those affected by violent crime and chronic illness as well as awarding scholarships to deserving young students in the community.
The foundation was formed by Dr William Petit Jr formerly of Cheshire Connecticut in order to help honor the lives of his wife Jennifer Hawke Petit
and thier two daughters Hayley and Michaela. each of whom were killed in a
home invasion in July 2007. Dr Petit was the sole survivor and he sustained
severe head injuries in the attack.
The crimes deeply affected both the community as well as the entire state at
large. It subsequently prompted many residents to become more involved in
good works, particularly those with human suffering at thier core. The 5k race
day is one such example of this coordinated altruism.
Please come and be a part of this important and far reaching good cause - last year's Race day was a huge success -Thousands turned out on one of the hottest days of the year; Many lives were changed for the better as a result. We hope to make this level of success a yearly tradition.
Further Details of the 5k Raceday event can be found at the Petit Family Foundation Raceday Website here www.petitroadrace.com/index.shtml
Road race will be held this Sunday. July 19th in Plainville Connecticut!
The Race supports a great cause and promises to be a fun day! Besides the 5k
race and "fitness walk", there are activities and award ceremonies for kids and adults and many refreshments to boot!
Please come and bring your friends and/or family - You can register for either
of the day's races in advance via the Petit family 5k Race day site below, or in person the morning of the race prior to 8;30 AM.
For non- runners and those of us with creaky knees and such, there
is a gentler 'fitness walk" which is great exersize and allows you to take a more active part in the days events.
For those who don't know, The Petit Family Foundation is a locally based non-profit that helps support those affected by violent crime and chronic illness as well as awarding scholarships to deserving young students in the community.
The foundation was formed by Dr William Petit Jr formerly of Cheshire Connecticut in order to help honor the lives of his wife Jennifer Hawke Petit
and thier two daughters Hayley and Michaela. each of whom were killed in a
home invasion in July 2007. Dr Petit was the sole survivor and he sustained
severe head injuries in the attack.
The crimes deeply affected both the community as well as the entire state at
large. It subsequently prompted many residents to become more involved in
good works, particularly those with human suffering at thier core. The 5k race
day is one such example of this coordinated altruism.
Please come and be a part of this important and far reaching good cause - last year's Race day was a huge success -Thousands turned out on one of the hottest days of the year; Many lives were changed for the better as a result. We hope to make this level of success a yearly tradition.
Further Details of the 5k Raceday event can be found at the Petit Family Foundation Raceday Website here www.petitroadrace.com/index.shtml
Jul 12, 2009
Don't wait for toxicology: Fame killed Michael Jackson
One of the most thoughtful and insightful articles yet regarding the very sad death of Michael Jackson.
Jul 1, 2009
Jun 30, 2009
Michael, Farrah and the death of Immortality
The other day I read a quote by a 40 something someone or other that read
"' The deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson this week "signal the
death of our childhood." ...Despite a reflexive disapproval of their choice of verbiage (the english major in me felt it couldve been more aptly expressed)
I still found myself nodding an emphatic affirmative, thinking 'yes... that's exactly it!
But now considering that even the very last stragglers of the baby boom generation have long exited their childhoods, how could we just now be feeling as if robbed of them, and this via the deaths of a few icons?
I myself was born in 1963 , a year that is oft disputed as even qualifying for true baby boomer status but in fact is technically baby boom-- And as such, even as a very late boomer, by 45 I had begun to mourn my entire youth, let alone my childhood.
Clearly the sentiment within that statement was of the metaphoric brand: It boiled down to this - any lingering sense of immortality that we middle aged folks might have still managed to hold onto, seemed suddenly and rudely yanked out from under us by the untimely deaths of an ever-growing gaggle of our childhood idols. We were beyond simply mortal now, we were perhaps on the cusp of our own demises - or that's what these deaths translated into .
And this wasn't all about Michael Jackson, although as the days wore on, the fervor was pretty much pared down to the pop legend's death. It actually began
with the news that David Carradine had died. Carradine was a relative icon of the 70's, an actor best known for his starring role in the then cutting edge t.v series, "Kung Fu". He had recently re-emerged after a long hiatus, an apparent benefactor of the Tarrantino syndrome, the quirky director reknown for reigniting the careers of long dormant once- upon- a- time stars. In the early 2000's Tarrantino pulled Carradine out of obscurity to play the lead role in a dark drama called "Kill Bill" (the name says it all.)
Carradine was in Bangkok filming a new movie when he died. Initial reports said that he had committed suicide by hanging himself in the closet of an upscale hotel room - Fortunately, the suicide assertion did not last long ;Friends and relatives were paraded in front of the news cameras each one vowing that there was no way David Carradine killed himself; He was in extremely high spirits, superb health and his career was in a full upswing.
Some suspected foul play, but the possibility that Carradine might have been murdered was soundly trounced when reports that the security video camera in his hotel hallway proved that no one but Carradine entered or exited his room on the evening that he died. Whatever happened to him, he must have done to himself . This latest bit of detail seem to interrupt the grief process and left friends and fans confused and unsure of just what to feel. Anger at his foolishness, pity for him, regret that it had happened ? After all, there was no emotional precedent for such a demise. It wasn't suicide, it wasn't murder and the facts of his death and now the media, were both suggesting that Carradine had died accidentally during an auto erotic practice.( I'd personally suspected this from the outset having seen this exact scenario in an episode of HBO'S "6 feet under" )
In the end the details of his death only made the star's death even more tragic; he had everything to live for, he was back on top of his game and yet he was still compelled to engage in dangerous auto-erotic practices that were notorious for killing people. Wasn't this just another type of killing oneself, not unlike driving drunk or doing larger and larger quantities of drugs?
And while we were recuperating from this news, it was announced rather quietly, that Farrah Fawcett has been rushed to the hospital, signaling to anyone following her life lately, that her death from metastatic liver cancer was likely imminent; She'd been battling anal cancer for several years and it had recently been found in her liver.
Just one month earlier Fawcett had invited the public into her private life via a televised documentary chronicling her daily life struggle with terminal cancer. Through this documentary I gleaned a Farrah Fawcett that was intelligent, courageous and most notably, deeply spiritual. There was an other- worldliness to her, you could see it and feel it even through the impersonal lens of the camera.
I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I was one of those people that used to assume Farrah Fawcett wasn't terribly deep- and I'm not sure why exactly.
I do know it wasnt because she was beautiful, I've lived long enough to know that a woman can be both very attractive and very intelligent, but for some reason I had been largely unaware that Farrah was such a rare class of woman. Perhaps her illness had added these layers to her But I suspect that she was a very special person long before she took ill.
Farrah death was announced on the news just a few hours after her hospital admission. This was somewhere between Ed McMahon's dying and the original reports of David Carradines strange and tragic death.
At this tenuous point, we the baby boomers had lost three icons of varying degrees in a 2 week period. And just as the sun was going down on this sad day,there was more bad news, and this time completely out of left field; Michael Jackson had apparently just died of cardiac arrest after being rushed to a hospital from his home in LA, where "he'd collapsed from unknown causes."
Anyone who tunes into the nightly news, even sporadically, was aware that Jackson was in the midst of preparations for a huge comeback concert tour to be held in London-This only made the timing of his death that much more of a shock .
We had all seen Michael at his worst, during the trial for his accused molestation case (of which He was acquitted)We saw the news clips of him,wearing pajama bottoms to court, being helped to walk by his bodyguards, with that eveil looking trol of a father He was frail and very ill looking. To me he looked as if he was dying of a broken heart, and in retrospect, he very might well have been.
But here we were all expecting a comeback for the king of pop- indeed most of us were rooting for jackson, having grown up with him quite literally, first as part of the Jackson five and then later as a solo artist . Yes there was trouble in his life and it seemed more and more clear to me that there were substance abuse issues at the core of many of his erratic behaviors. But when I heard about the tour I assumed that he'd cleaned up, and I was genuinely happy for him.
A month later he was dead.
"' The deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson this week "signal the
death of our childhood." ...Despite a reflexive disapproval of their choice of verbiage (the english major in me felt it couldve been more aptly expressed)
I still found myself nodding an emphatic affirmative, thinking 'yes... that's exactly it!
But now considering that even the very last stragglers of the baby boom generation have long exited their childhoods, how could we just now be feeling as if robbed of them, and this via the deaths of a few icons?
I myself was born in 1963 , a year that is oft disputed as even qualifying for true baby boomer status but in fact is technically baby boom-- And as such, even as a very late boomer, by 45 I had begun to mourn my entire youth, let alone my childhood.
Clearly the sentiment within that statement was of the metaphoric brand: It boiled down to this - any lingering sense of immortality that we middle aged folks might have still managed to hold onto, seemed suddenly and rudely yanked out from under us by the untimely deaths of an ever-growing gaggle of our childhood idols. We were beyond simply mortal now, we were perhaps on the cusp of our own demises - or that's what these deaths translated into .
And this wasn't all about Michael Jackson, although as the days wore on, the fervor was pretty much pared down to the pop legend's death. It actually began
with the news that David Carradine had died. Carradine was a relative icon of the 70's, an actor best known for his starring role in the then cutting edge t.v series, "Kung Fu". He had recently re-emerged after a long hiatus, an apparent benefactor of the Tarrantino syndrome, the quirky director reknown for reigniting the careers of long dormant once- upon- a- time stars. In the early 2000's Tarrantino pulled Carradine out of obscurity to play the lead role in a dark drama called "Kill Bill" (the name says it all.)
Carradine was in Bangkok filming a new movie when he died. Initial reports said that he had committed suicide by hanging himself in the closet of an upscale hotel room - Fortunately, the suicide assertion did not last long ;Friends and relatives were paraded in front of the news cameras each one vowing that there was no way David Carradine killed himself; He was in extremely high spirits, superb health and his career was in a full upswing.
Some suspected foul play, but the possibility that Carradine might have been murdered was soundly trounced when reports that the security video camera in his hotel hallway proved that no one but Carradine entered or exited his room on the evening that he died. Whatever happened to him, he must have done to himself . This latest bit of detail seem to interrupt the grief process and left friends and fans confused and unsure of just what to feel. Anger at his foolishness, pity for him, regret that it had happened ? After all, there was no emotional precedent for such a demise. It wasn't suicide, it wasn't murder and the facts of his death and now the media, were both suggesting that Carradine had died accidentally during an auto erotic practice.( I'd personally suspected this from the outset having seen this exact scenario in an episode of HBO'S "6 feet under" )
In the end the details of his death only made the star's death even more tragic; he had everything to live for, he was back on top of his game and yet he was still compelled to engage in dangerous auto-erotic practices that were notorious for killing people. Wasn't this just another type of killing oneself, not unlike driving drunk or doing larger and larger quantities of drugs?
And while we were recuperating from this news, it was announced rather quietly, that Farrah Fawcett has been rushed to the hospital, signaling to anyone following her life lately, that her death from metastatic liver cancer was likely imminent; She'd been battling anal cancer for several years and it had recently been found in her liver.
Just one month earlier Fawcett had invited the public into her private life via a televised documentary chronicling her daily life struggle with terminal cancer. Through this documentary I gleaned a Farrah Fawcett that was intelligent, courageous and most notably, deeply spiritual. There was an other- worldliness to her, you could see it and feel it even through the impersonal lens of the camera.
I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I was one of those people that used to assume Farrah Fawcett wasn't terribly deep- and I'm not sure why exactly.
I do know it wasnt because she was beautiful, I've lived long enough to know that a woman can be both very attractive and very intelligent, but for some reason I had been largely unaware that Farrah was such a rare class of woman. Perhaps her illness had added these layers to her But I suspect that she was a very special person long before she took ill.
Farrah death was announced on the news just a few hours after her hospital admission. This was somewhere between Ed McMahon's dying and the original reports of David Carradines strange and tragic death.
At this tenuous point, we the baby boomers had lost three icons of varying degrees in a 2 week period. And just as the sun was going down on this sad day,there was more bad news, and this time completely out of left field; Michael Jackson had apparently just died of cardiac arrest after being rushed to a hospital from his home in LA, where "he'd collapsed from unknown causes."
Anyone who tunes into the nightly news, even sporadically, was aware that Jackson was in the midst of preparations for a huge comeback concert tour to be held in London-This only made the timing of his death that much more of a shock .
We had all seen Michael at his worst, during the trial for his accused molestation case (of which He was acquitted)We saw the news clips of him,wearing pajama bottoms to court, being helped to walk by his bodyguards, with that eveil looking trol of a father He was frail and very ill looking. To me he looked as if he was dying of a broken heart, and in retrospect, he very might well have been.
But here we were all expecting a comeback for the king of pop- indeed most of us were rooting for jackson, having grown up with him quite literally, first as part of the Jackson five and then later as a solo artist . Yes there was trouble in his life and it seemed more and more clear to me that there were substance abuse issues at the core of many of his erratic behaviors. But when I heard about the tour I assumed that he'd cleaned up, and I was genuinely happy for him.
A month later he was dead.
continued..
Jun 20, 2009
Jun 12, 2009
Recidivism Part One
If ever there was an argument for the existence of the Death Penalty, this
web page has dozens of them- I warn you, its hard to read but as responsible, conscientious people,
we must.
With each and every story on that page there is a victim, a life
ended brutally, in every instance. What separates these horrible murders from
the thousands of others that tragically occur each year in this country is that every one of these murders should have never happened . I don't mean this in an existential random and cruel nature of the cosmos type of thing
(ie being in the wrong place at the wrong time) I mean it literally- these murders should have never happened because
every one of them was committed by men who had been previously arrested and convicted of other murder/ or multiple murders in many instances. Having
served clearly inadequate prison sentences, they were all released back upon
the public and in short order, they all killed again.
This set of stories is a must read for everyone, particularly those who consider themselves on the fence concerning the death penalty. More often than not, I hear people say that they are against the Death Penalty "theoretically" And then they go on to say that " in this one case however they feel it is necessary"- At this juncture I usually will suggest to them that this means that
they in fact do believe in the death penalty, and like many other conscientous people, altough they are not gung-ho to put someone to death,
they believe that our courts should have the option of imposing this ultimate sentence, when it is warranted due to particlularly aggravating circumstances, on a careful per case basis.
While there has always been a good deal of controversy surrounding the issue
of capital punishment, as of late the controversy has reached a feverish pitch.
In my own state of Connecticut the largely democratic legislature just recently
voted in favor of a bill to abolish the death penalty. The bill was introduced by the Judiciary Committee a few weeks prior to the
actual legislative vote, taking the Connecticut public by surprise. According to newspapers, the original impetus for abolishment had its origins in financial considerations, ie the state of the current economy as well as a serious state deficit for the first time in years. The legislators were looking for ways to save money and much to the consternation of its citizens, one of the first things they
thought of was to get rid of the "expensive " and""archaic" death penalty.
Fortunately, Governor Rell vetoed the bill soon after it barely passed
muster in the State Senate with a 19-17 final vote. Both the Senate and the house lacked the two third vote margin in favor of the bill, necessary to override the Governor's veto.
To read more about the local attempt to abolish the Death Penalty here in Connecticut, read my April Post on the subject.
http://chasingnormal.blogspot.com/2009/04/committee-pushes-to-abolish-death.html
web page has dozens of them- I warn you, its hard to read but as responsible, conscientious people,
we must.
With each and every story on that page there is a victim, a life
ended brutally, in every instance. What separates these horrible murders from
the thousands of others that tragically occur each year in this country is that every one of these murders should have never happened . I don't mean this in an existential random and cruel nature of the cosmos type of thing
(ie being in the wrong place at the wrong time) I mean it literally- these murders should have never happened because
every one of them was committed by men who had been previously arrested and convicted of other murder/ or multiple murders in many instances. Having
served clearly inadequate prison sentences, they were all released back upon
the public and in short order, they all killed again.
This set of stories is a must read for everyone, particularly those who consider themselves on the fence concerning the death penalty. More often than not, I hear people say that they are against the Death Penalty "theoretically" And then they go on to say that " in this one case however they feel it is necessary"- At this juncture I usually will suggest to them that this means that
they in fact do believe in the death penalty, and like many other conscientous people, altough they are not gung-ho to put someone to death,
they believe that our courts should have the option of imposing this ultimate sentence, when it is warranted due to particlularly aggravating circumstances, on a careful per case basis.
While there has always been a good deal of controversy surrounding the issue
of capital punishment, as of late the controversy has reached a feverish pitch.
In my own state of Connecticut the largely democratic legislature just recently
voted in favor of a bill to abolish the death penalty. The bill was introduced by the Judiciary Committee a few weeks prior to the
actual legislative vote, taking the Connecticut public by surprise. According to newspapers, the original impetus for abolishment had its origins in financial considerations, ie the state of the current economy as well as a serious state deficit for the first time in years. The legislators were looking for ways to save money and much to the consternation of its citizens, one of the first things they
thought of was to get rid of the "expensive " and""archaic" death penalty.
Fortunately, Governor Rell vetoed the bill soon after it barely passed
muster in the State Senate with a 19-17 final vote. Both the Senate and the house lacked the two third vote margin in favor of the bill, necessary to override the Governor's veto.
To read more about the local attempt to abolish the Death Penalty here in Connecticut, read my April Post on the subject.
http://chasingnormal.blogspot.com/2009/04/committee-pushes-to-abolish-death.html
Jun 5, 2009
Connecticut governor vetoes attempt to ban executions
Bravo Governor Rell, thank you for your strength and your commitment to all victims of violent crime, including families and loved ones.
Jun 1, 2009
May 30, 2009
Connecticut Commentary: Red Notes from a Blue State: Common Sense, Capital Punishment and Deterrence
As usual, a great Post by local columnist Don Pesci ...
May 28, 2009
May 22, 2009
Moral Philosophy and the Death Penalty
A superb moral and philosophical look at the Death Penalty. The readers comments are as interesting as the article itself and the blog is extremely intelligent and well written - I will definitely be a regular here. Palosverdeblog@blogspot.com
Conn. governor vows to preserve death penalty
Thank God for Governor Rell. Its funny, I have been a registered democrat most of my life and have long considered myself a fairly "liberal" person - But after watching and listening to the mostly democratic General Assembly debate and wrangle with a succession of important crime legislation- much of which have been proposed in the wake of the Petit family murders, I am sincerely reevaluating my party affiliations.
How can I be a member of a political group whose morals and principles concerning the most essential and sacred of all political issues, I find to be weak and worse, self serving. Taxes and same-sex marriage quickly fall by the wayside, if we cannot be one in the fight against violent crime- It should be a no brainer.
As far as I am concerned, most of the debates within the house and Senate can be boiled down to a singular issue - how we treat fellow human beings who have been victimized by violence ? And let those words really sink in.. Now This is what the death penalty debate is really about - The victims of violence and the true notion of obtaining Justice for them and their families.
Peel away all of the other nonsense, "closure' ' retaliation' et al, this is what remains; Justice.
How can I be a member of a political group whose morals and principles concerning the most essential and sacred of all political issues, I find to be weak and worse, self serving. Taxes and same-sex marriage quickly fall by the wayside, if we cannot be one in the fight against violent crime- It should be a no brainer.
As far as I am concerned, most of the debates within the house and Senate can be boiled down to a singular issue - how we treat fellow human beings who have been victimized by violence ? And let those words really sink in.. Now This is what the death penalty debate is really about - The victims of violence and the true notion of obtaining Justice for them and their families.
Peel away all of the other nonsense, "closure' ' retaliation' et al, this is what remains; Justice.
Connecticut Senate votes to abolish death penalty
What a disaster - Our only hope now lies with Governor Rell via a veto. The Senate needs a 2/3 majority to override any veto, since the Senate vote was so close at 19-17, they do not have the necessary voting power to override and the veto would then stand. Governor Rell has made it clear in the past that she believes in capital punishment for 'the most heinous of murder cases" although she has stopped just shy of using the word "veto" - a wise habit of hers, she most likely does not wish to throw that power around willy nilly nor appear to be holding it over the heads of the General Assembly.
Please let Governor Rell know that you don't wish to live in a state where there is little deterrence for murder and rape and no hope for justice for the worst of brutally murdered victims. If this bill for the abolition of the death penalty is made int law Violent crime will increase;The worst sentence that a murderer can draw would be life without parole, which will then mean that every defense attorney in the state will now clog up the courts attempting to get the lighter sentence of" life with chance of parole" for all of their murdering defendant's. Its called 'give an inch take a mile' and insofar as defense attorneys are concerned, this has historically had terrible results. They have no moral guideposts.
More later
Please let Governor Rell know that you don't wish to live in a state where there is little deterrence for murder and rape and no hope for justice for the worst of brutally murdered victims. If this bill for the abolition of the death penalty is made int law Violent crime will increase;The worst sentence that a murderer can draw would be life without parole, which will then mean that every defense attorney in the state will now clog up the courts attempting to get the lighter sentence of" life with chance of parole" for all of their murdering defendant's. Its called 'give an inch take a mile' and insofar as defense attorneys are concerned, this has historically had terrible results. They have no moral guideposts.
More later
May 14, 2009
House votes to revoke death penalty
Above is a decent article on the recent house vote to repeal the death penalty. Please get involved, the Senate is next to vote on this, let the members of the CT Senate know in no uncertain terms that we will not vote for anyone who now votes to abolish the Death Penalty. We will remember thier vote in our voting booths in the next elections; this is an core issue of public safety and there is no more important decision that as lawmakers they will make..
Below is a link to a listing of how each member of the house voted. Bear in mind that Mike Lawlor as co chair of the judiciary committee, has had a great deal of influence over the entire democratic legislative vote on abolishment. He is an ex- prosecutor and has been vocal against the DP for many years. We will have to rely on the people of East haven his consituants, to remember his abysmal voting record in all matters of criminal judicial safety in the next local election.
www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=88590296625&h=QB6qr&u=MKXdx&ref=mf
Below is a link to a listing of how each member of the house voted. Bear in mind that Mike Lawlor as co chair of the judiciary committee, has had a great deal of influence over the entire democratic legislative vote on abolishment. He is an ex- prosecutor and has been vocal against the DP for many years. We will have to rely on the people of East haven his consituants, to remember his abysmal voting record in all matters of criminal judicial safety in the next local election.
www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=88590296625&h=QB6qr&u=MKXdx&ref=mf
May 13, 2009
May 8, 2009
Criminal Searches - FREE criminal searches on anyone
Find out if the person you are dating has a history of violence
Criminal Searches - FREE criminal searches on anyone
Criminal Searches - FREE criminal searches on anyone
Apr 23, 2009
Apr 20, 2009
Columbine demonstration at Capitol
Today is the 10th anniversery of the horrible Columbine crimes.
A group of friends and family members of the victims killed that day chose to demonstrate today on the steps of the states capitol in a very dramatic - and sobering fashion. One by one, thirteen people, each wrapped in blue and white ribbon, laid themselves down on the pavement, arranging themselves as spokes on a wheel - Each body symbolizing 13 lives lost to senseless gun violence ten years ago today at Columbine High School.
The demonstration was two-fold - it served as both memorial and protest for what is percieved by its participants as Government and public complacency regarding stricter Gun Control.
The father of one of the slain children, Daniel Mauser said it all when he was asked why he
chose today to make a political statement about this "tragedy".
"I would just say, 'Why wouldn't we do this today?'" Mauser said. "...We have become desensitized. We shake our heads and say, 'What a shame,' but we don't do very much about it."
'We don't do very much about it.'
And therein lies the rub. When anniversaries of awful happenings like this come around, I think that at the very least as a people we need to ask ourselves ' what lessons have we garnered from this... ? What actions have we taken towards insuring that this doesn't happen again?
Today a group of still-bereaved family and friends of 13 Columbine victims answered
"Not enough." They cite an attitude of complacency regarding stricter gun control both within the community as well as the State Government.
The link below leads to a very good article about the many whys behind the Columbine shootings. Be forwarned that it delves into the disturbed minds and souls of the two young men that visited terror and carnage upon their own peers'. And while I do not wish to in any way sensationalize them or their acts, I do feel that it's imperative that we all become more aware of the signs and symptoms of the personality disorders that lay just behind violent crimes such as this one. www.slate.com/id/2099203/
Apr 19, 2009
Apr 10, 2009
Apr 3, 2009
Judiciary Committee Pushes To Abolish Death Penalty in Connecticut
Late Tuesday afternoon, the Connecticut Judiciary Committee voted on whether or not to support a bill that would abolish the death penalty in our state. The largely democratic committee voted 24-13 in favor of supporting this bill. The house, along with the Senate will now decide whether or not the state of Connecticut replaces Capital punishment with a sentence of life imprisonment with no parole in its stead.
A major issue cropping up within this whole discussion has been the lengthy appeals process, which is currently mandatory with all state D.P cases. Legislators claim that the appeals process is too costly and time consumptive, and thus their reasoning follows, if we take the death penalty off the table, the state will save a lot of money.
Besides being completely inappropriate, this kind of reasoning, whereby money is the main consideration rather than the tremendous moral and social issues involved, is also inaccurate and very misleading; Within these discussions no one seems to be factoring in the many costs involved in the periphery of such decisions. One such example would be the money spent on the prosecution and often -state-financed defense of the violent crimes that will surely be a result of abolishment. It's only common sense that criminals are afraid of the prospect of being put to death much more than they are of being relegated to prison for "life" no matter how far in their future that death sentence looms.
An example of these aforementioned hidden costs is apparent within the Petit family murders: These July 2007 murders have been languishing in our courts for nearly two years with no sign of a trial in sight. Ironically enough, the state of Connecticut is absorbing the cost of both prosecution and defense of the two defendants accused of these murders, as well as a year and a half of special guards to protect them from the prison population and the general public (The latter during their court appearances) Not to mention 16 months of 24 hr guards for a suicide watch on one of the two defendants who is already in solitary confinement for his "own protection"
Add to this the cost of housing, food, medical/ dental care (same defendant is reportedly on daily anti-anxiety medication and pain killers) And the total sum becomes astronomical.
Our legislators have never mentioned, nor perhaps even considered these costs but they have many times over cited the costs involved with the prosecutors decision to pursue capital punishment in the case, oft times pointing out how much money would be saved if the state would pursue life with no parole instead.
As is often the situation with death penalty cases both defendant's attorneys have stated public ally that the state could avoid a lengthy and costly trial and the subsequent appeal process if they hadn't so stubbornly insisted on the death penalty for this case. They hint that they would be amenable to pleading guilty without a trial, saving the state millions and the victims family years of drawn out criminal process.... if only the state dropped the death penalty from the table.
The problem with this type of reasoning, (besides the fact that it is succumbing to what amounts to emotional and financial blackmail,) is this: If the death penalty were indeed no longer a consideration, then life with no parole would be the most severe sentence for any capital crime and thus any attorney worth his salt is automatically going to push for the next less severe sentence for his/her client - In this case that would be life with a chance of parole.
And since so many of the legislators and anti-DP activists are prone to pointing out the emotional hardships that the Death penalty causes the family of crime victims -( via having to live thru years of appeals and the repeated testimony and details of the crimes committed against their loved ones,) they should think about the inevitable fact that many of these same murder cases will result in life with possibility of parole, thereby sentencing the victims family to a lifetime of fighting against parole every few years for the criminal that killed their loved one.
The expression 'give an inch take a mile'comes to mind.
If you'll recall, the state cut both of the Petit murderers loose from their already more- than- liberal prison sentences, just prior to their committing the Petit family rapes and murders -Why.....? In order to save money.
Saving Money was behind the decision to parole the two repeat offenders with little to none of their criminal files on hand, and without seeing or speaking to the inmates themselves.
The prosecutors office had been refusing to pay for the copying costs involved with sending complete files for each criminal for many years and as such, besides the occasional futile complaint the parole board had been reluctantly "making do".albeit with some grumbling.
The consensus seems to be that had the Parole board been made privy to at least the court transcripts of one of the defendants sentencing hearings, that young man would have never been paroled. The Petit murders would never have happened.
The state put both men in halfway houses after less than a third of their sentences were served; In the end, a nine year sentence that was given by the judge presiding over Joshua komisarjevsky's cases became two and a half years actually served behind bars. Besides the glaring lack of judicial and commonsense involved - our state's money-saving efforts ultimately cost them millions and The Petit and Hawke families a life-time of grief and pain.
Surely all of these costs should be tallied into the overall equation by our Appropriations Committee as they consider the price tag of being "too tough on crime. "
The house and Senate will vote next on this bill, thanks to the Judiciary Committees Tuesday vote, which in effect brought the bill forward to the house. We must let our legislators know that we do not wish to live in a State where there is little to no deterrence for committing rape and murder. Many repeat offenders are non-plussed at the prospect of a "life sentence" - Many who commit, or would commit- capital crimes like murder have been in and out of prison their entire lives. They are not likely to think twice about taking a life if the worst that can happen - the worst - is life within the prison community.
And prison is just that, a community-of sorts. A veritable sub-culture existing mostly unseen and un pondered by the general public. It provides its inhabitants with such diversions as Cable TV, use of computers, and exercise and weight rooms. In some Connecticut Prisons, inmates may have Paid jobs that are provided by the prison which in turn provide pocket money, which can then be used to curry favors from willing C'Os, and to purchase illicit drugs, all of which as you might imagine, help make the incarceration experience that much more palatable.
Movies, gyms, paid work and in some cases, conjugal- visits. Yes, some inmates actually start families while they are in prison serving time for crimes like murder via such conjugal visits. Unlike their victims, whose lives were snuffed out cruelly, they can wed, sire children and visit with their children and the rest of their families. They can even earn degrees if they wish-- It 'helps to pass the time', according to some inmates.
The bottom line is that if this this becomes the worst fate that lies ahead for a would - be murderer, to use the typical antiseptic verbiage - the state of Connecticut will likely have an "influx of violent crime" In real life this translates into more people being brutalized, terrorized, raped and murdered. More family members grieving, more suffering with the Post trauma that comes from the personal knowledge of such violent ends. What all of this will equate to in human suffering is far beyond anything the members of the Connecticut Judiciary Committee ever contemplated.
We have also been hearing the tired lament that 'the state of Connecticut doesn't execute anyone anyway, so why not simply abolish the Death penalty?' In fact, Co-chairman of the Ct Judiciary committee Mike Lawlor( D East Haven) recently referred to the death penalty as"a fraud of public policy" during a talk with the media. He was no doubt referring to the fact that only two murderers in fifty years have actually been put to death here and one of them had to actually sue the state in order to get executed in a more timely fashion. His name Michael Ross, he was a serial rapist and killer of women and teenage girls.
Mr Ross apparently wished to be accountable for the many lives he had taken and the many others he had destroyed, this revelation came after hearing testimony from the family members of his many victims. Through Connecticut's absurd automatic appeals process and the last minute intervention of a local judge, Ross's execution was repeatedly delayed and de-railed until finally, 25 years after his crimes, he was put to death via lethal injection - a rather humane way to end a life comparatively.
If we do use Mr Lawlors logic regarding the Death Penalty being a "fraud of public policy" it should follow that we would get rid of most of the current Judicial system in Connecticut - clearly the parole board was a fraud of public policy for a good many years and yet that is still intact. (albeit with some changes after lax parole standards were exposed "post Cheshire." )
Why trials themselves could be considered a fraud of public policy considering about 97 percent of Connecticut's criminal cases are adjudicated via plea "deals" every year, meaning no trial . Our state prosecutors so rarely go to trial that the odds are stacked against them when they DO due to this inexperience. This of course only adds to the courthouse climate of avoiding a trial at all costs, even though it means settling with reduced and/or dropped charges against a defendant, not because he didn't commit the crimes, nor because the state hasn't adequate evidence, but rather because we'll save effort and money by offering that deal.
These deals not only leave the victims invalidated, they leave the criminal in question with an inaccurate criminal record that does not reflect how dangerous he is, never mind a much less severe sentence that perpetually compromise public safety.
Twelve inmates or so are currently on Connecticut's "death row", a true misnomer as within our current system it will be approximately twenty years before most are actually put to death, if they are not successful with one of their many appeals. While it is clear that the run amok appeals process needs to change, this does not translate to the need for getting rid of the entire system. Connecticut's prosecutors and Judges are clearly very discerning in seeking the Death Penalty, as well they should be, but part of the extremely serious decision of whether to pursue it in a capital murder case shouldn't include the assertion that its too costly and cumbersome, so why bother?
We need to do the more difficult thing and ameliorate the problems that have become inherent with the application of our state's death penalty system. Connecticut's chief prosecutor Kevin Kane feels strongly that this can be achieved. Our lawmakers must be utterly sensible and unflaggingly honest about the issues surrounding this issue. There is no place within this discussion for politics and yet the death penalty debate seems fraught with those trying to use it as a platform to further personal and partisan agendas.
A fair and sound appeals process helps keep our courts in check when such a serious sentence is involved, but when that appeals process is hijacked and threatens to swallow the very system it protects, then its time to re-vamp..
I hear so many people say .." in theory, I am against the death penalty... but in "this case" or
for "heinous crimes like this one, I believe it's only" just" or fair or"necessary". If we are truly honest as a people, we realize that this then means that we believe in the death penalty: To be certain, we believe in the need for its existence, the option to render it forth for just such crimes as the ones that lead us to make these moral exceptions.
Support bill -H.B. No. 6705 Conn. Residents
Dear concerned Connecticut residents,
The link above brings you to on extremely important proposed crime bill ( HB 6705 )
It needs to reach the pending legislative session in order to be a voted on, and it is in danger of not getting in front of them for another year, as it now sits at the mercy of The Connecticut Judiciary Committee.
The bill proposes reform measures for our states habeas corpus writ, which in its present form is unfortunately serving as a vehicle for unscrupulous defense attorneys and violent criminals alike to abuse our current appeals process. Used mostly as a stalling tactic of sorts, it can drag out the resolution of violent crime cases and the imposition of sentencing.
This bill for habeus is also an important step in reforming our states death penalty, which is rarely if ever actually used, partly because of the abuse of habeas corpus. Like many well intentioned writs, habeas was designed to protect the basic rights of those wrongly accused of a crime, but as it is currently written, it has since become a loophole for murderers and rapists to manipulate our courts and stead off their sentences indefinitely. It also clogs up the courts and costs the state and the taxpayers a good deal of money in the process.
Please read up on this reform bill ASAP and email the judiciary committee and/ your local Representative in the legislature,-this includes your town's selectman, assemblyman, and area Senators-(You can look them up online if you're not certain who they are; (every town has one or two reps on the general assembly) Please tell them that you support the bill and ask them to vote on the bill in the immediate upcoming session.
This is one of those bills that really affects the people of this state, and and it can ease a great deal of suffering on behalf of crime victims and their families.
It is time to take back our judicial system, too many lives have been lost due to Connecticut court's many inefficiencies.,And many more lives destroyed by a terrible lack of justice for murdered and victimized loved ones.
Let us bring some peace to those who already have suffered so much, by helping impose a reasonable and timely resolution of thier loved ones murder cases.
CSAO: Judiciary Committee - March 26, 2009 - H.B. No. 6705
The link above brings you to on extremely important proposed crime bill ( HB 6705 )
It needs to reach the pending legislative session in order to be a voted on, and it is in danger of not getting in front of them for another year, as it now sits at the mercy of The Connecticut Judiciary Committee.
The bill proposes reform measures for our states habeas corpus writ, which in its present form is unfortunately serving as a vehicle for unscrupulous defense attorneys and violent criminals alike to abuse our current appeals process. Used mostly as a stalling tactic of sorts, it can drag out the resolution of violent crime cases and the imposition of sentencing.
This bill for habeus is also an important step in reforming our states death penalty, which is rarely if ever actually used, partly because of the abuse of habeas corpus. Like many well intentioned writs, habeas was designed to protect the basic rights of those wrongly accused of a crime, but as it is currently written, it has since become a loophole for murderers and rapists to manipulate our courts and stead off their sentences indefinitely. It also clogs up the courts and costs the state and the taxpayers a good deal of money in the process.
Please read up on this reform bill ASAP and email the judiciary committee and/ your local Representative in the legislature,-this includes your town's selectman, assemblyman, and area Senators-(You can look them up online if you're not certain who they are; (every town has one or two reps on the general assembly) Please tell them that you support the bill and ask them to vote on the bill in the immediate upcoming session.
This is one of those bills that really affects the people of this state, and and it can ease a great deal of suffering on behalf of crime victims and their families.
It is time to take back our judicial system, too many lives have been lost due to Connecticut court's many inefficiencies.,And many more lives destroyed by a terrible lack of justice for murdered and victimized loved ones.
Let us bring some peace to those who already have suffered so much, by helping impose a reasonable and timely resolution of thier loved ones murder cases.
CSAO: Judiciary Committee - March 26, 2009 - H.B. No. 6705
Mar 26, 2009
Teens and Lawmakers Talk About Dating Violence (CT News Junkie)
An excellent idea that will save lives, please read about this important proposed legislation, and voice your support to the Connecticut General Assembly. This is where we can instill the most change regarding partner violence, with our youth, the men and women of tommorow!
Mar 25, 2009
Victim's Voice Day in Connecticut
Today is the first annual Victim's Voice day throughout the state of Connecticut. From 10-2 PM at various locations in each county there will be an input-focused meeting- of- minds for crime victims and residents interested in learning and sharing about victim's rights in our state.
There will be representatives from the Office of Victim Advocate as well as the Governors office and other arms of the State's Judicial System, including Domestic Violence specialists.
If you are unable to attend in person please take the time to click on the State of Connecticut Victim Voice Day website linked above. There are online forms that can be printed up and mailed out so that your opinions can be given equal time. There are also listings for Victim's Voice locations in each county for those who are able to attend in person.
You will also find descriptions of new legislation that will affect all Connecticut residents as well as victims of crime and their loved ones -- so please take the time to learn about it and share your input.
If you are a surviving victim of crime or you know someone who is, please make your opinions, your feelings and your experience known. There are a great deal of problems within our State's criminal justice system, particularly within our courts - this is a rare opportunity for victims of crime to share about these issues first hand.
Below is a link to a downloadable adobe PDF format of The Victim's Voice Day flyer that is being distributed at all of the statewide locations today .
www.ct.gov/ova/lib/ova/Victims%27_Voice_Day_Flyer_color_banner_%282%29.doc
There will be representatives from the Office of Victim Advocate as well as the Governors office and other arms of the State's Judicial System, including Domestic Violence specialists.
If you are unable to attend in person please take the time to click on the State of Connecticut Victim Voice Day website linked above. There are online forms that can be printed up and mailed out so that your opinions can be given equal time. There are also listings for Victim's Voice locations in each county for those who are able to attend in person.
You will also find descriptions of new legislation that will affect all Connecticut residents as well as victims of crime and their loved ones -- so please take the time to learn about it and share your input.
If you are a surviving victim of crime or you know someone who is, please make your opinions, your feelings and your experience known. There are a great deal of problems within our State's criminal justice system, particularly within our courts - this is a rare opportunity for victims of crime to share about these issues first hand.
Below is a link to a downloadable adobe PDF format of The Victim's Voice Day flyer that is being distributed at all of the statewide locations today .
www.ct.gov/ova/lib/ova/Victims%27_Voice_Day_Flyer_color_banner_%282%29.doc
Mar 22, 2009
Petit Family Foundation wins FBI Community Service Award
Congratulations to Dr Bill Petit for winning the FBI Connecticut Community service award for his work with the Petit Family Foundation. The foundation was formed after the murders of his wife and two daughters in a 2007 home invasion. Dr Petit was badly injured himself within the crime, but miraculously managed to survive. After the crimes, outpourings in the form of letters and unsolicited donations began to trickle in from people all over the country. After careful consideration, Dr Petit decided to form The Petit family foundation,
www.Petitfamilyfoundation.org/ a multi-directional Community based non-profit that donates to, and raised money for, a smattering of good causes such as The multiple Sclerosis Foundation and Those affected by violent crime., including Domestic Violence.
PFF also provides multiple scholarships to deserving young women, and recognizes and rewards local youths for exemplary community service involvement.
It would seem that Dr Petit is living by example, his own words at a memorial service for his lost loved ones;
" If there is anything to be gained from the senseless deaths of my beautiful family, let it be for us all to go forward and live with a faith that embodies action: help a neighbor, love your family, fight for a cause."
Clearly, those words struck a deep chord in a great many people, both within, and beyond the borders of Connecticut; A kind of en- masse altruism has sprung forth in the form of soaring volunteerism, community outreach and a general raised consciousness towards others who are in pain or in need .
Twenty months after the crimes, the good works steadfastly grow as many continue to be inspired by Dr Petit's words and moreover, the life examples of he,Jennifer, Haley and Micheala, each one uncannily kind and committed to making this world a better place.
www.Petitfamilyfoundation.org/ a multi-directional Community based non-profit that donates to, and raised money for, a smattering of good causes such as The multiple Sclerosis Foundation and Those affected by violent crime., including Domestic Violence.
PFF also provides multiple scholarships to deserving young women, and recognizes and rewards local youths for exemplary community service involvement.
It would seem that Dr Petit is living by example, his own words at a memorial service for his lost loved ones;
" If there is anything to be gained from the senseless deaths of my beautiful family, let it be for us all to go forward and live with a faith that embodies action: help a neighbor, love your family, fight for a cause."
Clearly, those words struck a deep chord in a great many people, both within, and beyond the borders of Connecticut; A kind of en- masse altruism has sprung forth in the form of soaring volunteerism, community outreach and a general raised consciousness towards others who are in pain or in need .
Twenty months after the crimes, the good works steadfastly grow as many continue to be inspired by Dr Petit's words and moreover, the life examples of he,Jennifer, Haley and Micheala, each one uncannily kind and committed to making this world a better place.
Mar 14, 2009
Petition for keeping the Death Penalty In Connecticut
It has recently been brought to the attention of the Connecticut Judiciary Committee that getting rid of the death penalty would save the state a good deal of money In fact There is currently a bill in the house that proposes the complete abolition of the penalty within the state to be replaced with life sentences with no possibility of parole in its stead.
And with the current climate surrounding all things money, being what it is, more than a few members of the committee and the legislature would seem to think that this bill is worth considering. After all, they point out, the death penalty, although legal in Connecticut, is rarely awarded here by a jury or judge The parameters that a crime or crimes must be defined within in order to qualify for this, the ultimate punishment are far from commonplace -- they must be in effect the worst of the worst capital murder cases, having one or more particularly heinous attributes in order to be eligible for a death sentence.
For these and other reasons, the death penalty sentence is rarely given in the state of Connecticut, and with its endless automatic appeals process, the actual penalty itself, death by lethal injection, is even more rarely carried out.
Once, to be exact within the past 2 decades, and this was a case whereby the criminal in question had to petition the courts to have his sentence actually carried out! He didn't wish any more state-financed appeals slowing down his jury awarded sentence. His name was Michael Ross, he was a serial murderer and rapist, but thankfully, he plead guilty and accepted his sentence for brutally raping and murdering 7 women,including two fourteen year old girls.
Or at least he tried to accept it, but ironically the same state that gave him the sentence, would seem to do all they could to delay it, he was finally put to death 2 years ago.
These plethora of appeals that occur once a death penalty sentence is given in Connecticut are ironically required within our current system, whether or not the defendant wants to appeal. This is what wastes money, not the death penalty itself . Its clear to almost everyone that the judicial process surrounding all death penalty cases desperately needs restructuring so that we are no longer rendering our most serious criminal penalty useless via what amounts to bureaucratic, state financed stalling tactics.
While many of the opponents of the death penalty blithely claim that the death penalty is an insanely expensive prospect, once you look closely, this is mostly due to the dragged out appeals process which indeed, bogs down the courts, slows up the process and takes up our state-paid attorneys and prosecutors valuable time in the meantime.
And so, where does this leave us? While many of us agree that the death penalty is not working in its present form here in Connecticut, we recognize that the main reason is not an inherent flaw with the concept itself but rather because its been literally hijacked by defense attorneys, and swallowed up in bureaucracy, thereby collecting dust at the bottom of our states judicial broom closet.
As a survivor of violent crime,and one who advocates for crime victims, I adamantly believe that we must preserve the right to exercise this, our most serious of sentences, for the most serious of crimes committed against us.
The "us" here represents our neighbors, our loved ones, our brethren-our friends. No one ever thinks that violent crime will come to visit upon them, yet we are the people that comprise this state and as such, we are all potential victims.
As a state and a people, we cannot afford to continue drawing the line of criminal accountability farther and farther away from anything resembling justice.
The old adage ' give an inch, take a mile' would seem to be written with defense attorneys and violent criminals in mind; experience has shown us that many will take whatever they can get -and then some-- out of our justice system. There is no moral compass, no reasonableness, none of the decency that we are accustomed to expect from fellow human beings. Certainly accountability and justice are merely vapid words to most lawyers. They often hide manipulation and deceitfulness behind the mantra that "every person deserves a fair trial .." and our courts have literally followed suit, As the lawyers manipulated the law and the process, our prosecutors and judges had to scramble to "keep up" in effect. The result is what we see today a system that has become corrupted. It didn't happen all at once, it happened in small increments, bit by bit.
If we make life without parole the worst possible sentence in the state of Connecticut, it is only a matter of time before lawyers and other like- minded individuals will be insisting that a life sentence with zero possibility of parole is cruel and unusual. And following suit, there will be a move to ban this punishment in lieu of life sentence with the possibility of parole. And on it will go.
And this is saying nothing of the deterrence effect that the death penalty may have upon a would be criminal, And what might happen when the possibility of garnering this severe sentence is no longer a viable concern to any would be murderer. As it is now, It certainly has not helped our states present situation that we so rarely impose the death penalty here; career criminals are well aware of this, they are aware of the rarity of the sentence itself as well as the obscenely long time that murderers languish on "death row" once they have been actually sentenced. Decades and decades. Many die in prison whilst waiting for that sentence, which is never delivered.
In a recent public meeting concerning the Death Penalty abolition, Connecticut's head prosecutor Kevin Kane, shared about having to stand by and watch while years and years go by and the fathers and mothers of murder victims die themselves, often from natural causes, long before their loved ones killer is given his sentence!
These families lives are first utterly traumatized by the horror of the violent crimes against their loved ones, and then put on a terrible stasis, waiting for a trial that takes years before even commencing. Case in Point, Dr William Petit will have to wait at least 3 years before the trial begins for the two men accused of killing his wife and children in July 2007. The current word is that Jury selection is slated to begin early 2010.
Again, experience dictates that in most criminal cases, the first estimates for trial dates are almost always pushed back several times over. This is usually at the bequest of the DEFENSE and again, acquiesced to by the presiding judge, who is in effect blackmailed in granting these delays, lest a mistrial later be awarded, due to a claim (by the defense) of inadequate trial preparation time.
The incessant delays that have become rote practice within our courts leave the victims and thier families in a state of suspended healing, forced to hold onto vivid memories of the crimes and the emotions connected to them during a time period where they should be allowed their already- difficult healing process.
This process will be unnaturally put on hold the moment a jury selection begins for the criminal trial of his families killers. And With this current DP abolition proposal, people like Dr Petit and his family may have to suffer the additional emotional insult of having the original death penalty sentence that was officially sought by the states attorneys handling the case, thrown out and changed to a life term in prison in its stead/ Although the death penalty was not going to bring the Petit and hawke families a perfect sense of solace or closure, it would serve as a viable sense of justice for their family members cruelly robbed lives.
Chief prosecutor kevin kane also concurred that the lengthy appeals process is but one of several areas that needs to be revamped within the states current death penalty system. While clearly a believer in the death penalty and against statewide abolition, he realizes that it isnt working in its current form.
I will be writing more about this crucial issue over the following days and weeks. For those of you who feel strongly about keeping the death penalty sentence as an option in Connecticut's courts, please click on the link below and sign your name to the petition, it will be presented in the near future to the lawmakers of the state.
www.gopetition.com/online/25840.html
Let your voice be heard.
And with the current climate surrounding all things money, being what it is, more than a few members of the committee and the legislature would seem to think that this bill is worth considering. After all, they point out, the death penalty, although legal in Connecticut, is rarely awarded here by a jury or judge The parameters that a crime or crimes must be defined within in order to qualify for this, the ultimate punishment are far from commonplace -- they must be in effect the worst of the worst capital murder cases, having one or more particularly heinous attributes in order to be eligible for a death sentence.
For these and other reasons, the death penalty sentence is rarely given in the state of Connecticut, and with its endless automatic appeals process, the actual penalty itself, death by lethal injection, is even more rarely carried out.
Once, to be exact within the past 2 decades, and this was a case whereby the criminal in question had to petition the courts to have his sentence actually carried out! He didn't wish any more state-financed appeals slowing down his jury awarded sentence. His name was Michael Ross, he was a serial murderer and rapist, but thankfully, he plead guilty and accepted his sentence for brutally raping and murdering 7 women,including two fourteen year old girls.
Or at least he tried to accept it, but ironically the same state that gave him the sentence, would seem to do all they could to delay it, he was finally put to death 2 years ago.
These plethora of appeals that occur once a death penalty sentence is given in Connecticut are ironically required within our current system, whether or not the defendant wants to appeal. This is what wastes money, not the death penalty itself . Its clear to almost everyone that the judicial process surrounding all death penalty cases desperately needs restructuring so that we are no longer rendering our most serious criminal penalty useless via what amounts to bureaucratic, state financed stalling tactics.
While many of the opponents of the death penalty blithely claim that the death penalty is an insanely expensive prospect, once you look closely, this is mostly due to the dragged out appeals process which indeed, bogs down the courts, slows up the process and takes up our state-paid attorneys and prosecutors valuable time in the meantime.
And so, where does this leave us? While many of us agree that the death penalty is not working in its present form here in Connecticut, we recognize that the main reason is not an inherent flaw with the concept itself but rather because its been literally hijacked by defense attorneys, and swallowed up in bureaucracy, thereby collecting dust at the bottom of our states judicial broom closet.
As a survivor of violent crime,and one who advocates for crime victims, I adamantly believe that we must preserve the right to exercise this, our most serious of sentences, for the most serious of crimes committed against us.
The "us" here represents our neighbors, our loved ones, our brethren-our friends. No one ever thinks that violent crime will come to visit upon them, yet we are the people that comprise this state and as such, we are all potential victims.
As a state and a people, we cannot afford to continue drawing the line of criminal accountability farther and farther away from anything resembling justice.
The old adage ' give an inch, take a mile' would seem to be written with defense attorneys and violent criminals in mind; experience has shown us that many will take whatever they can get -and then some-- out of our justice system. There is no moral compass, no reasonableness, none of the decency that we are accustomed to expect from fellow human beings. Certainly accountability and justice are merely vapid words to most lawyers. They often hide manipulation and deceitfulness behind the mantra that "every person deserves a fair trial .." and our courts have literally followed suit, As the lawyers manipulated the law and the process, our prosecutors and judges had to scramble to "keep up" in effect. The result is what we see today a system that has become corrupted. It didn't happen all at once, it happened in small increments, bit by bit.
If we make life without parole the worst possible sentence in the state of Connecticut, it is only a matter of time before lawyers and other like- minded individuals will be insisting that a life sentence with zero possibility of parole is cruel and unusual. And following suit, there will be a move to ban this punishment in lieu of life sentence with the possibility of parole. And on it will go.
And this is saying nothing of the deterrence effect that the death penalty may have upon a would be criminal, And what might happen when the possibility of garnering this severe sentence is no longer a viable concern to any would be murderer. As it is now, It certainly has not helped our states present situation that we so rarely impose the death penalty here; career criminals are well aware of this, they are aware of the rarity of the sentence itself as well as the obscenely long time that murderers languish on "death row" once they have been actually sentenced. Decades and decades. Many die in prison whilst waiting for that sentence, which is never delivered.
In a recent public meeting concerning the Death Penalty abolition, Connecticut's head prosecutor Kevin Kane, shared about having to stand by and watch while years and years go by and the fathers and mothers of murder victims die themselves, often from natural causes, long before their loved ones killer is given his sentence!
These families lives are first utterly traumatized by the horror of the violent crimes against their loved ones, and then put on a terrible stasis, waiting for a trial that takes years before even commencing. Case in Point, Dr William Petit will have to wait at least 3 years before the trial begins for the two men accused of killing his wife and children in July 2007. The current word is that Jury selection is slated to begin early 2010.
Again, experience dictates that in most criminal cases, the first estimates for trial dates are almost always pushed back several times over. This is usually at the bequest of the DEFENSE and again, acquiesced to by the presiding judge, who is in effect blackmailed in granting these delays, lest a mistrial later be awarded, due to a claim (by the defense) of inadequate trial preparation time.
The incessant delays that have become rote practice within our courts leave the victims and thier families in a state of suspended healing, forced to hold onto vivid memories of the crimes and the emotions connected to them during a time period where they should be allowed their already- difficult healing process.
This process will be unnaturally put on hold the moment a jury selection begins for the criminal trial of his families killers. And With this current DP abolition proposal, people like Dr Petit and his family may have to suffer the additional emotional insult of having the original death penalty sentence that was officially sought by the states attorneys handling the case, thrown out and changed to a life term in prison in its stead/ Although the death penalty was not going to bring the Petit and hawke families a perfect sense of solace or closure, it would serve as a viable sense of justice for their family members cruelly robbed lives.
Chief prosecutor kevin kane also concurred that the lengthy appeals process is but one of several areas that needs to be revamped within the states current death penalty system. While clearly a believer in the death penalty and against statewide abolition, he realizes that it isnt working in its current form.
I will be writing more about this crucial issue over the following days and weeks. For those of you who feel strongly about keeping the death penalty sentence as an option in Connecticut's courts, please click on the link below and sign your name to the petition, it will be presented in the near future to the lawmakers of the state.
www.gopetition.com/online/25840.html
Let your voice be heard.
Mar 5, 2009
Lawmakers revisit death penalty -- Newsday.com
Another article about the 2 death penalty bills currently being discussed by the Ct judiciary committee...
Dr. William Petit Testifies In Support Of Death Penalty -- Courant.com
I will be Posting in depth about this important issue shortly
(here is the link to later)
http://chasingnormal.blogspot.com/2009/04/committee-pushes-to-abolish-death.html
Please keep a watchful eye on our Connecticut legislature and let them know how you feel about the death penalty for capital crimes, such as the Petit family murders.
(here is the link to later)
http://chasingnormal.blogspot.com/2009/04/committee-pushes-to-abolish-death.html
Please keep a watchful eye on our Connecticut legislature and let them know how you feel about the death penalty for capital crimes, such as the Petit family murders.
Mar 4, 2009
Domestic Abuse Linked to Poor Health, Years Later
Content below excerpted from US News and World report April 2008
I didn't want to read the news story about Amy Castillo, the Maryland mother whose estranged husband drowned their three young children in a hotel room last Saturday. I didn't want to read that the family court judge refused to deny the father unsupervised visitation because Castillo continued to have sex with him after he talked about killing the children just to hurt her.
I can only surmise what this poor woman would have done had she known that he would most certainly carry out his threats. Shooting him in cold blood would have been an understandable option. (I say this as a mother of three kids.)
No one wants to read these stories, and no one wants to talk about them beyond expressing pity for this now childless mother. Amy Castillo said she shared her fears and no one listened to her. But even she may not have realized that what her husband was doing was a form of psychological abuse. And all women who live under a threat from a loved one, even when it doesn't erupt into violence, need to start having these conversations with their friends and family, not only to protect themselves but also to educate judges and doctors who all too frequently miss the signs in their female patients. A World Health Organization study published in today's Lancet found that women currently being abused were more likely to have memory loss, difficulty walking, dizziness, and vaginal discharge. Even those who hadn't experienced violence over the past year were more likely to be in poorer health overall, which the researchers write "suggests that the effect of violence might last long after the actual violence has ended."
Yet many doctors fail to connect the dots between partner abuse—including threats of violence—and unexplained health problems like chronic headaches, insomnia, painful sex, and gastrointestinal complaints, according to Janice Asher, a domestic violence expert and associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. "All too frequently, women will get CT scans, MRIs, and other tests that go nowhere when doctors don't take the time to ask if they're in an unsafe relationship," she laments. While abuse itself can obviously cause injuries, psychologists have found that the pain often lingers after the body heals due to "memories" stored in nerve cells. This could explain why a woman might suddenly develop pelvic pain after entering a new relationship when her last boyfriend forced her to have a type of sex she didn't want.
With 2 million American women abused by their partners every year, doctors are doing a huge disservice when they don't screen for domestic violence—especially, Asher adds, since most women won't talk about abuse unless they're asked. (And even then, many won't discuss it until they've established a trusting relationship with their doctor.)
"I'm so glad you're covering this!" she tells me. I told her that I heard a great presentation she gave two years ago on screening for domestic violence. What struck me at the time was how few doctors at the gynecology conference were in attendance to hear her remarks. "Yes," she sighs, "doctors tell me they're too pressed for time to ask about abuse." So, women may have to take it upon themselves to speak up about prior abuse if they're experiencing unexplained pain or other symptoms.
The first priority for a woman in danger, of course, is to get away from the source. Unfortunately, as Amy Castillo learned, the system doesn't always make that possible. Organizations like the National Coalition Against Domestic violence
I didn't want to read the news story about Amy Castillo, the Maryland mother whose estranged husband drowned their three young children in a hotel room last Saturday. I didn't want to read that the family court judge refused to deny the father unsupervised visitation because Castillo continued to have sex with him after he talked about killing the children just to hurt her.
I can only surmise what this poor woman would have done had she known that he would most certainly carry out his threats. Shooting him in cold blood would have been an understandable option. (I say this as a mother of three kids.)
No one wants to read these stories, and no one wants to talk about them beyond expressing pity for this now childless mother. Amy Castillo said she shared her fears and no one listened to her. But even she may not have realized that what her husband was doing was a form of psychological abuse. And all women who live under a threat from a loved one, even when it doesn't erupt into violence, need to start having these conversations with their friends and family, not only to protect themselves but also to educate judges and doctors who all too frequently miss the signs in their female patients. A World Health Organization study published in today's Lancet found that women currently being abused were more likely to have memory loss, difficulty walking, dizziness, and vaginal discharge. Even those who hadn't experienced violence over the past year were more likely to be in poorer health overall, which the researchers write "suggests that the effect of violence might last long after the actual violence has ended."
Yet many doctors fail to connect the dots between partner abuse—including threats of violence—and unexplained health problems like chronic headaches, insomnia, painful sex, and gastrointestinal complaints, according to Janice Asher, a domestic violence expert and associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. "All too frequently, women will get CT scans, MRIs, and other tests that go nowhere when doctors don't take the time to ask if they're in an unsafe relationship," she laments. While abuse itself can obviously cause injuries, psychologists have found that the pain often lingers after the body heals due to "memories" stored in nerve cells. This could explain why a woman might suddenly develop pelvic pain after entering a new relationship when her last boyfriend forced her to have a type of sex she didn't want.
With 2 million American women abused by their partners every year, doctors are doing a huge disservice when they don't screen for domestic violence—especially, Asher adds, since most women won't talk about abuse unless they're asked. (And even then, many won't discuss it until they've established a trusting relationship with their doctor.)
"I'm so glad you're covering this!" she tells me. I told her that I heard a great presentation she gave two years ago on screening for domestic violence. What struck me at the time was how few doctors at the gynecology conference were in attendance to hear her remarks. "Yes," she sighs, "doctors tell me they're too pressed for time to ask about abuse." So, women may have to take it upon themselves to speak up about prior abuse if they're experiencing unexplained pain or other symptoms.
The first priority for a woman in danger, of course, is to get away from the source. Unfortunately, as Amy Castillo learned, the system doesn't always make that possible. Organizations like the National Coalition Against Domestic violence
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