This article about a chronic sex offender that was recently released from prison is a perfect example of why a strict persistent offender law is desperately needed in this state.
While some members of The Connecticut judiciary committee would have us believe that Connecticut has a persistent offender law, from a practical standpoint it is not being utilized and therefore it is not legitimate.
The offender cited within this article, despite having shown himself to be a dangerous sexual predator, was given chance upon chance upon chance by Connecticuts court system -- Not only did "RE-OFFEND" as it appears on paper, but as is the inherent danger of such ill conceived "chances" he went on to assault a multitude of new victims after each and every release- And these are the ones we know about thus far: Experience has shown law enforcement that for each rape or murder a predator is caught committing, there are usually several others that he/she has not been caught for and may VERY WELL never be.
Some Connecticut legislators believe that a re-entry program for sex offenders is the answer, the missing link if you will,to our ever- burgeoning "recidivism problem"---- I cant help but wonder if either they or thier loved ones were to be the next victim of just such a chronic offender, if they'd still feel that a program of this sort was the answer or enforcement of the maximum sentence allowed by law for this or any violent crime?
I don't know if the attitude that permeates our legislative body can be explained simply by the old liberal knee jerk response to most social ails, including crime, whereby they would seem to believe is a direct result of the age old disparity of income and education between the haves and the have nots
This upper middle class guilt syndrome seems even more accentuated when it comes to issues like crime and punishment... or "rehabilataion" as they would have it
It seems that the whole issue of crime would seem to pluck at some innate guilt strings that the "privileged" or educated, assume (The best part of all of this is that I am in fact a registered democrat, but insofar as the issue of crime I part ways drastically with my left compatriots. Of course the basic premise behind this often includes the naive notion that all evil acts can be explained by poverty, abusive childhoods, neglect, uncaring society, racism, etc etc etc.
Unfortunately reality is simply not nearly so facile; There are are a fair percentage of sociopaths that find themselves incarcerated in our Connecticut jails and prisons and no matter what is done to "help "them, they are going to hurt others again and again given the chance.
And with each crime that they commit, any last vestiges of conscience that they might have once possessed-are quickly abandoned. And it is often the weakest of our citizens that suffer again and again at their hands Children, women, the elderly.
It is long overdue for the state and its people to collectively address the life and death issue of crime and justice. And like any other restructuring project we must start with basic awareness and education; Many people feel that they don't know enough about the issue to affect a change; They simply don't know where to begin and though they might have the best of intentions as well the desire to see productive change in our judicial system, they haven't a clue how to go about it-and thus regrettably, they do nothing.
But they don't feel good about it.
The good news is that its never too late to learn about the machinations of our state legislature-How laws are created and put into effect is something that a lot of otherwise intelligent people are surprisingly ignorant about. unfortunately with the amount of corruption in our states political history it is easy to understand why so many people become complacent about all matters politica; especially on the state level-
With a small investment of time and energy one can easily learn all there is to know about state government and the judiciary. Once we understand how the process is supposed to work then we can explore how it really works and therein usually lies most of our State's problems. In theory our justice system works well, but watch the daily dockets of our cities busiest courts and youll see another story;
The Next step might be organizing like minded neighbors friends family usimg the collective will of the people as a vehicle for change. Like minded needn't equate with sharing the same political views; The issue of crime and public safety should transcend political parties; We all want our families and loved ones to be safe- This is a universal desire and indeed a right, and to that end we must direct our efforts.
Our state legislators are voted in; ASSEMBLYMEN Selectman and Senators, If you don't like the way that your town or city's Representative has voted on bills concerning crime, do not vote for that person in the next election-simple- right?
All sessions ( meetings ) of the Connecticut General Assembly both regular and special sessions-are currently televised on Connecticut's own cable channel - As such, its now possible to keep track of our town and city reps and senators in real time.
Watch the next legislative session, find out what your assemblyman's history has been regarding his/her votes on all bills pertaining to crime, The voting records for all members of the house and the senate can be found online at the State of Connecticut General Assembly website, usually posted within 48 hrs of a given vote. While this is useful information, it doesnt substitute for watching the sessions as they unfold on tv, as well as the subsequent votes; You'll get a much better picture of which legislators are influential which ones dont know what they're doing and who stands where and why. Once you understand the process of lawmaking, you will undoubtedly want to be more involved; Historically organized Citizen action groups have been largely responsible for the advent of a great deal of important new crime legislation such as Megans law, Jessisca's law, and the original california based Three strikes law-several of these laws began as grassroots efforts by family and friends of murdered children. The key is to learn from the past; We dont have to wait until a brutal crime occurs to take action;
the proposed three strikes legislation in Connecticut was a classic example of this. Unfortunately the bill was voted down by Connecticuts largely democratic house of represntatives last year, however several republican legislators have vowed to pick up the baton and reintroduce it in this years session. The more public involvemnt with such bills the more likely they are to become laws.
Do not accept mere lip service from your towns reps re thier stance on crime; many of our current legislators HAVE claimed to be "tough on crime" when they were running for office or re-election, when in reality time after time they voted against bills that would keep violent offenders in prison for longer amounts of time, or they squash these bills before the bill can even make it to the floor for a vote.
Last year in the wake of the Petit FAMILY murders in Cheshire,our Ct Judiciary committee saw fit to pass a bill to abolish the Death Penalty. Despite a public poll that showed a clear pro death penalty choice by Connecticuts residents, The bill managed to narrowly pass muster in both the house and the Senate. If not for Governor Rell's courageous veto of that bill, the death penalty would no longer be viable in the state of Connecticut; In its place, life in prison with no parole would become Connecticut's idea of capital punishment. Most Ct citizens dont realize just how close we came to a criminal/judicial crisis via this proposed Bill.
The reasoning given for the abolishment bill was money. The whole country was in economic crisis as was the state and our judiciary committe thoughtfully came up with the ingenious idea that The state could save lots of money by abolishing the death penalty because built into the states death penalty is an unwieldy automatic appeals process which is extremely time consumptive and costly to the state. (Never mind fixing the problem, lets just eradicate the entire issue. )
There are virtually no limits as to the amount of appeals a death row inmate can file with the courts, thereby creating a virtual endless supply of administrative delays to any actual execution, which by the way, have been so scarce in Connecticut that the last man put to death had to literally sue the state to do so. But thats another story for another day....
Dec 31, 2009
Woman, 20, killed in Greenwich murder
This is so utterly horrible and senseless -It breaks my heart and makes my blood boil simultaneously
Why is it that in half of these domestic violence "murder/ suicides" , where a male is invariably the perpetrator, the suicide is unsuccessful but the murder is not? These cowards always manage to successfully murder ( murder being the ultimate control of a person via taking their life) the object of their hate/lust or obsession, and yet they botch the part where they " kill themselves" afterwards?
Why is it that in half of these domestic violence "murder/ suicides" , where a male is invariably the perpetrator, the suicide is unsuccessful but the murder is not? These cowards always manage to successfully murder ( murder being the ultimate control of a person via taking their life) the object of their hate/lust or obsession, and yet they botch the part where they " kill themselves" afterwards?
Dec 20, 2009
5 suspects arrested in Darien home invasion - The Connecticut Post Online
Four out of five of these guys are considered minors-unbelievable.
Dec 19, 2009
Dec 15, 2009
Lawmakers to hold special session in Hartford
Lets all pay careful attention to whether this upcoming special session effects funding for victim services as well as prison sentences in this state.
There was recently some clandestine legislation snuck through the house (piggy backed onto another bill ) which somehow flew completely below the local press radar-- and http://blog.ctnews.com/politicalcapitol/2009/12/11/dr-william-petit-jr-on-the-return-of-re-entry-furloughs-for-prisoners/ The legislation allows for early release "furlough "programs for selected Connecticut inmates- including inmates convicted of so called "lesser" violent crimes; crimes. like assault in the third degree, which on its face may appear to be low level, but when one considers that this charge is only what the person in question wound up convicted of. not not what he/ she was actually charged with and more importantly, committed, then releasing such inmates early becomes a slippery slope indeed. Someone in the general public is now in danger of becoming the "next victim" of this prematurely sprung criminal. Never mind the message that it sends to those who would prey upon others-- Isn't this exactly what happened with the men that committed the Petit family murders in Cheshire? The only difference is semantics - in 2007, the year those terrible crimes happened, the program in question was called "early release program"; it was designed to reduce prison overcrowding and you got it- save money for the state.
The program was halted soon after the Petit murders which brought attention to the dangers inherent with such practices.
Now the state is calling it "early release "furlough": which is in fact a misnomer, as furlough implies a return to the institution at some point in time and as you will note with this program there is no return just a one way ticket out.
After being told that he was being given early release parole in the spring of 2007, Steven hayes, co defendant in the Petit murders, was reportedly incredulous and admitted to friends that he "couldn't believe they were letting him out... but he sure as hell wasn't about to argue with them- ha ha ha. "
Ha ha indeed. As we all know, Hayes, a chronic felon of epic proportions, was given his early release, and he was not shoved out of the prison doors into the "real world" left "hanging" as many members of the Ct legislature would have us believe is the norm and indeed at the root of the states high recidivism rates with newly released prisoners. To which I say- nonsense.
Mr Hayes was helped by the state in obtaining decent paying full time work- incidently fulltime work was a requirement of his parole.
The state further ensured that he had somewhere to live when he left prison, and somewhere that was safe-In his case his mother reportedly gave him yet another chance to start his life again crime free. He was loaned a truck by family members to use for transportation to work and recreation- the latter as it fell within the parameters of his parole agreement which typically requires some kind of curfew and disallows parolees from paling around with other known felons, particularly newly paroled ones when the potential for newly formed criminal alliances is at its greatest. He had counseling available to him in order to help him with the re-adjustment of life from prison to the "normal" lawful workaday world.
But despite all of these tools, assists and opportunities, Steven Hayes chose not to play by the rules like the rest of us and work hard at a job, eventually making more money as experience and time at the job accrued. He chose not to take advantage of the many many fresh starts he was given despite a terrible track record both in and out of prison. Mr Hayes did not want to work for his money-he desired the quick easy money that he could get by robbing others.
And thanks to the states decision to send mr hayes and thousands of other imates to halfway houses after less than a third of already cut short sentences, he now made a new friend with a similar criminal mindset. That friend... johua komisarjevsky.
The two meshed perfectly and no one either in the halfway house or on the outside either family ir friends, discouraged the ill fated union despite the obvious potential for trouble.
Komisarjevsky happen to live in an affluent town among trusting folks that often left their doors unlocked, despite having so much to lose afact that he was quick to share with hayes, a reputed thief of admittedly smaller proportions; supposedly most of hayes smash and grab larcenies were committed to support a crack cocaine habit.
Komisarjevsky was a different species well known by local police since the age of 14, he'd spent his relatively young life setting abandoned buildings on fire and stalking young girls. As he grew older he graduated to perfecting "skills" like advanced breaking and entering a favorite of his was committing break ins while the homeowners were home sleeping in thier beds. He bragged to friends and police that if no-one was home during the robberies it was too boring. This was a missed red flag of grave consequence. There would be many others over the next 14 years or so.
No sooner was komisarjevsky's ankle tracking bracelet removed, then The pair began robbing the nice homes that peppered the well kept streets surrounding komisarjevskys modest childhood home where he still lived with his now elderly parents and his 3 year old daughter borne to an underage girl of 15 (Another red flag missed)
The two men robbed from others who had worked hard for those lovely homes, people who had put the endless hours days and years into a life that perhaps just now was finally beginning to yield the fruits of that sacrifice and labor.
Hayes and komisarjevsky could care less about other peoples hard work- they only saw that others had what they desired and indeed what they believed they deserved. They werent suckers like these people- they didn't have to earn these things- they could simply take them. No matter who paid for it.
And On july 23 2007 At approx 3 am the two broke into The home of Dr William Petit and his wife and 2 daughters, komisarjevsky had spotted Jennifer Petit and her 11 year old daughter Michaela while they were shopping at an area stop and shop earlier that same evening. With a sick plan already hatching in his mind he furtively followed the unsuspecting pair back to thier home.
After sharing his plan with hayes the men purchased an airgun at walmart cutting off its orange tip in order to make it appear more deadly. They brought rope and zipties in order to restrain Mrs Petit and the girls who they planned on sexually assaulting.
By 10 am Jennifer hawke Petit and her two daughters Hayley and Michaela would be murdered. At least two of them would be sexually assaulted and one of them beaten. Dr Petit the lone survivor would be near death from blood loss inflicted by repeated blows of a basball bat-and a town and a state would be mired in shock and grief . The anger would follow.
In the state of Connecticut approxamtely 97% of our criminal cases are disposed of with plea deals This means that there is no trial for these cases. There is instead a deal made between the lawyer for the defendant and the prosecutor assigned to that case; the majority of these deals made in the back rooms and hallways of the courthouse. Many prosecutors are inundated with full daily dockets and to save time and money theyll usually hammer out a deal after a series of monthly hearings, that are really little more than perfuctury protocol.
There was recently some clandestine legislation snuck through the house (piggy backed onto another bill ) which somehow flew completely below the local press radar-- and http://blog.ctnews.com/politicalcapitol/2009/12/11/dr-william-petit-jr-on-the-return-of-re-entry-furloughs-for-prisoners/ The legislation allows for early release "furlough "programs for selected Connecticut inmates- including inmates convicted of so called "lesser" violent crimes; crimes. like assault in the third degree, which on its face may appear to be low level, but when one considers that this charge is only what the person in question wound up convicted of. not not what he/ she was actually charged with and more importantly, committed, then releasing such inmates early becomes a slippery slope indeed. Someone in the general public is now in danger of becoming the "next victim" of this prematurely sprung criminal. Never mind the message that it sends to those who would prey upon others-- Isn't this exactly what happened with the men that committed the Petit family murders in Cheshire? The only difference is semantics - in 2007, the year those terrible crimes happened, the program in question was called "early release program"; it was designed to reduce prison overcrowding and you got it- save money for the state.
The program was halted soon after the Petit murders which brought attention to the dangers inherent with such practices.
Now the state is calling it "early release "furlough": which is in fact a misnomer, as furlough implies a return to the institution at some point in time and as you will note with this program there is no return just a one way ticket out.
After being told that he was being given early release parole in the spring of 2007, Steven hayes, co defendant in the Petit murders, was reportedly incredulous and admitted to friends that he "couldn't believe they were letting him out... but he sure as hell wasn't about to argue with them- ha ha ha. "
Ha ha indeed. As we all know, Hayes, a chronic felon of epic proportions, was given his early release, and he was not shoved out of the prison doors into the "real world" left "hanging" as many members of the Ct legislature would have us believe is the norm and indeed at the root of the states high recidivism rates with newly released prisoners. To which I say- nonsense.
Mr Hayes was helped by the state in obtaining decent paying full time work- incidently fulltime work was a requirement of his parole.
The state further ensured that he had somewhere to live when he left prison, and somewhere that was safe-In his case his mother reportedly gave him yet another chance to start his life again crime free. He was loaned a truck by family members to use for transportation to work and recreation- the latter as it fell within the parameters of his parole agreement which typically requires some kind of curfew and disallows parolees from paling around with other known felons, particularly newly paroled ones when the potential for newly formed criminal alliances is at its greatest. He had counseling available to him in order to help him with the re-adjustment of life from prison to the "normal" lawful workaday world.
But despite all of these tools, assists and opportunities, Steven Hayes chose not to play by the rules like the rest of us and work hard at a job, eventually making more money as experience and time at the job accrued. He chose not to take advantage of the many many fresh starts he was given despite a terrible track record both in and out of prison. Mr Hayes did not want to work for his money-he desired the quick easy money that he could get by robbing others.
And thanks to the states decision to send mr hayes and thousands of other imates to halfway houses after less than a third of already cut short sentences, he now made a new friend with a similar criminal mindset. That friend... johua komisarjevsky.
The two meshed perfectly and no one either in the halfway house or on the outside either family ir friends, discouraged the ill fated union despite the obvious potential for trouble.
Komisarjevsky happen to live in an affluent town among trusting folks that often left their doors unlocked, despite having so much to lose afact that he was quick to share with hayes, a reputed thief of admittedly smaller proportions; supposedly most of hayes smash and grab larcenies were committed to support a crack cocaine habit.
Komisarjevsky was a different species well known by local police since the age of 14, he'd spent his relatively young life setting abandoned buildings on fire and stalking young girls. As he grew older he graduated to perfecting "skills" like advanced breaking and entering a favorite of his was committing break ins while the homeowners were home sleeping in thier beds. He bragged to friends and police that if no-one was home during the robberies it was too boring. This was a missed red flag of grave consequence. There would be many others over the next 14 years or so.
No sooner was komisarjevsky's ankle tracking bracelet removed, then The pair began robbing the nice homes that peppered the well kept streets surrounding komisarjevskys modest childhood home where he still lived with his now elderly parents and his 3 year old daughter borne to an underage girl of 15 (Another red flag missed)
The two men robbed from others who had worked hard for those lovely homes, people who had put the endless hours days and years into a life that perhaps just now was finally beginning to yield the fruits of that sacrifice and labor.
Hayes and komisarjevsky could care less about other peoples hard work- they only saw that others had what they desired and indeed what they believed they deserved. They werent suckers like these people- they didn't have to earn these things- they could simply take them. No matter who paid for it.
And On july 23 2007 At approx 3 am the two broke into The home of Dr William Petit and his wife and 2 daughters, komisarjevsky had spotted Jennifer Petit and her 11 year old daughter Michaela while they were shopping at an area stop and shop earlier that same evening. With a sick plan already hatching in his mind he furtively followed the unsuspecting pair back to thier home.
After sharing his plan with hayes the men purchased an airgun at walmart cutting off its orange tip in order to make it appear more deadly. They brought rope and zipties in order to restrain Mrs Petit and the girls who they planned on sexually assaulting.
By 10 am Jennifer hawke Petit and her two daughters Hayley and Michaela would be murdered. At least two of them would be sexually assaulted and one of them beaten. Dr Petit the lone survivor would be near death from blood loss inflicted by repeated blows of a basball bat-and a town and a state would be mired in shock and grief . The anger would follow.
In the state of Connecticut approxamtely 97% of our criminal cases are disposed of with plea deals This means that there is no trial for these cases. There is instead a deal made between the lawyer for the defendant and the prosecutor assigned to that case; the majority of these deals made in the back rooms and hallways of the courthouse. Many prosecutors are inundated with full daily dockets and to save time and money theyll usually hammer out a deal after a series of monthly hearings, that are really little more than perfuctury protocol.
These plea deals result in lowered charges for the defendant in exchange for a guilty plea to usually substantially lowered charges; This means that charges that are quite serious like violent felonies such as assault in the second degree, winding up through a deal as assault in the third degree or even less ( assault 3 is only a misdemeanor). Or, sexual assault in the third degree involving a child could easily wind up as risk of injury to a minor. And This is assuming the police did thier work well and wrote up a good warrant did not violate any of the defendents rights and that case is relatively strong-- If not the charge (S) may be dismissed outright for " lack of evidence." or any number of other reasons.
Another daily standard practice in our Connecticut courts is the dropping of charges entirely within cases that have multiple charges- ie A defendant might have committed 4 serious charges, yet via the plea deal hell walk away with a conviction" for maybe two of those charges, and remember those charges will usually be lowered charges, at that.
This is all done in the name of judicial compromise mostly for expedience sake. And this doesn't happen in one hearing mind you, the average time frame for the ultimate resolution of a criminal case here in Connecticut is 6 -9 months. The norm is a hearing on the case transpires approx once a month, and it is "continued" until the next court date. This is a means of clearing the docket for the day and in effect procrastinating for the prosecutor and bulking up the defendants bill for the attorneys- lawyers are paid by time and court appearances are billed higher thus each time a hearing is "continued "he/she must show up with his client in front of the judge and the prosecutor, who has usually been talking with the lawyer behind closed doors or on the phone re the case and the general facts involved, announces to the judge that the defense is asking for a continuance while they sort out the facts of the case.
Pretty much Without fail the judge usually gives the prosecutor whatever they re asking for insofar as time and the same with any deal that the prosecutor eventually presents to the judge. Once in a while youll get a tough judge who will override prosecutors, and refuse plea deals that seem too liberal, espcieally for violent crime such as domestic violence and crimes against children.
While this might be acceptable for motor vehicle charges and non- violent drug charges and the like, it is another story altogether when extended to those who commit violent felony's., remember it takes alot to be charged with a violent felony in the first place-For example In the instance of assault two one must severely injure another human being in order for police to charge someone with this crime.
This charge would not result from your typical bar fight nor even your "average" domestic violence incident where someone has struck another person with a fist-these acts would in all liklihood result in an assault 3 charge. which is a misdemeanor- And then accordingly plead down from there to either nothing in a "Nollie," or Accelerated rehabilitation-a ct program for first time offenders which erases the criminal record after a year of compliance. The worst case scenario would be that this offender might receive a lesser charge in a plea deal something like reckless endangerment, that is if they have been convicted in the past of another violent crime.
One can easily see that our states court system already affords too many chances to someone who has committed violent crime, the last thing we need was new legislation that in effect gives some of these criminals a get out of jail early card.
Lets Keep a sharp eye on the states legislators within this upcoming session, and every session for that matter. All sessions are now televised on the local Connecticut cable channel. Watch listen and most importantly-vote accordingly when these people come up for reelection. We must be vigilant in letting our lawmakers know that it is no longer acceptable to treat any violent crime cavalierly. Our lives may someday depend on it.
Dec 10, 2009
Delay rejected in Petit Trial
Good news! Last month Steven Hayes's attorneys' asked for a 6 month delay for his trial and today in a hearing in New Haven, the judge said NO.
Thank heavens the good guys finally caught a break, the way this case has proceeded thus far I half expected these guys to get their damn delay; Youll have to Excuse the cynicism but it really seems like the deck has been stacked in favor of the criminals lately but thankfully todays judge had integrity and intelligence and he denied this latest ploy by the defense.
The request was purportedly based upon a book that was recently released about the crimes- the writer apparently met with one of the defendants in the case and indeed based much of the book upon That mans VERSION of the crimes a version which largely implicated the other man insofar as all of the most serious murder charges...naturally.
btw It has been 2 and half years since these murders happened and neither defendant has even begun jury selection-- We've been reading for months that jury selection for Steven Hayes, would begin in janurary 2010. A request by the prosecutor for simultaneous trials for both men was dropped when it became clear that it would a) likely be denied from the already vociferous defense objections, and
B) If it wasnt denied joint trials could be used later as a reason for a possible mistrial by either defense.
So despite the fact that it would have saved the Petit and Hawke families from having to go through the pain and trauma of rape and murder trial twice...they decided to drop the notion of simultaeneous trials in leui of a gurantee that a guilty verdict will mean a death sentence.
It was bandied about that since one of the defendents decided to meet with a writer for the purposes of writing a book about the crimes while there was still a gag order on the case, then he should be forced to go to trial first
-for the record joshua komisarjevsky the man who basically co authored this disgusting book was scheduled to go to trial after steven hayes, but since he changed the climate surrounding the crimes ie the press media and public interpretation---then its ownly right that he should have to live with the negative effects - discernabile or not.
I agreed with this myself but it would appear that Komisrjevsky once again gotten away with breaking the rules. I suppose if he cannot respect the sanctity of human life we shouldnt expect him to abide by the tenets of the court--it just seems as if there should be a greater penalty for purposely manipulating the jury pool in defiance of a court ordered gag, other than a toothless charge of obstruction of justice" which is what has been proposed for komisrajevsky by mr hayes's attorneys.
After all when your facing multiple capital murder charges are you really going to lose sleep over an obstruction of justice charge-probably not.
Thank heavens the good guys finally caught a break, the way this case has proceeded thus far I half expected these guys to get their damn delay; Youll have to Excuse the cynicism but it really seems like the deck has been stacked in favor of the criminals lately but thankfully todays judge had integrity and intelligence and he denied this latest ploy by the defense.
The request was purportedly based upon a book that was recently released about the crimes- the writer apparently met with one of the defendants in the case and indeed based much of the book upon That mans VERSION of the crimes a version which largely implicated the other man insofar as all of the most serious murder charges...naturally.
btw It has been 2 and half years since these murders happened and neither defendant has even begun jury selection-- We've been reading for months that jury selection for Steven Hayes, would begin in janurary 2010. A request by the prosecutor for simultaneous trials for both men was dropped when it became clear that it would a) likely be denied from the already vociferous defense objections, and
B) If it wasnt denied joint trials could be used later as a reason for a possible mistrial by either defense.
So despite the fact that it would have saved the Petit and Hawke families from having to go through the pain and trauma of rape and murder trial twice...they decided to drop the notion of simultaeneous trials in leui of a gurantee that a guilty verdict will mean a death sentence.
It was bandied about that since one of the defendents decided to meet with a writer for the purposes of writing a book about the crimes while there was still a gag order on the case, then he should be forced to go to trial first
-for the record joshua komisarjevsky the man who basically co authored this disgusting book was scheduled to go to trial after steven hayes, but since he changed the climate surrounding the crimes ie the press media and public interpretation---then its ownly right that he should have to live with the negative effects - discernabile or not.
I agreed with this myself but it would appear that Komisrjevsky once again gotten away with breaking the rules. I suppose if he cannot respect the sanctity of human life we shouldnt expect him to abide by the tenets of the court--it just seems as if there should be a greater penalty for purposely manipulating the jury pool in defiance of a court ordered gag, other than a toothless charge of obstruction of justice" which is what has been proposed for komisrajevsky by mr hayes's attorneys.
After all when your facing multiple capital murder charges are you really going to lose sleep over an obstruction of justice charge-probably not.
Dec 5, 2009
Early release: Dangerous money-saver? - The Connecticut Post Online
Bad news for Public safety in Connecticut- once again.
Nov 27, 2009
State opposes delaying jury selection in Cheshire slayings (with documents)- The New Haven Register - Serving New Haven, Connecticut
This backwards reasoning on behalf of Joshua Komisarjevsky's lawyers, that Steven Hayes's suicide watch for the past 2 years in prison only "proves " his guilt in the murders of the Petit women, is truly astounding. Moreover, the leap that they make that hayes's guilt somehow equates with thier client's innocence, is even more insulting to our collective intelligence.
Its quite clear to me that this "book" that komisarjevsky spoon-fed writer Brian mcdonald, was created with the express purpose of re-vamping public opinion re komisarjevsky and the events that transpired on the night that Jennifer hawke Petit and her two daughters were murdered.
Despite a gag order imposed somewhat belatedly on the case, many facts including copies of redacted warrents were made public, and these facts were damning indeed for both defendents.
The book in the middle of the night which was in effect co-authored by komisarjevsky, was made in hopes of bamboozling the public and thus the potential jury pool -into believing that co-defendant Steven Hayes was responsible for all of the "really bad crimes" committed that fateful night.
The crimes that are in contention are the capital murder charges- these are the only ones punishable by death.
And thrown in the book for good measure is a generous helping of tragic childhood background replete with purported sexual molestation of komisarjevsky at the age of 14, which we have absolutely no way of verifying especially when one considers the chronic manipultive nature of this guy.
Either way the intention of the book is clear; humanize and very nearly excuse the behavior of this man who admittedly raped an 11 year old girl and at the very least largely contributed to the deaths of three human beings.
But What really irks me is the depths to which these lawyers sink in their rabid attempts to save their client from accountability for his own actions. This is not the first time I've heard or read about komisarjevsky and hayes's lawyers verbally assailing the sole survivor of their clients criminal rampage.
But somewhere in the middle of all of this they tryed the soft peddle approach, wooing Dr Petit and other members of the Petit/Hawke families via a thinly veiled letter from a "restorative justice firm" working on behalf of Komisarjevsky and co, which was in effect lawyers on the states public defender payroll posing as well meaning "intermediaries" between the defendent and surviving victim.
The letter offered to answer "any questions about the crimes" that Dr Petit and family might have and to clear up any misunderstandings" There was a name and a phone number of a third party contact proffered.
Dr Petit, an intelligent man, saw through the subterfuge and proceeded to refer the letter to the office of victims advocate as well as pursuing a protective order againt the entire komisarjevsky defense camp in order to block any more attempts at contacting him or his family.
Almost immediately following this, the komisarjevsky lawyers dropped thier schmoozing and did an about face, lashing out at Dr Petit in the press, accusing him of spear-heading a " public campaign to have their client put to death."
This of course only showed up the disingenuousness of thier recent conciliatory posturing.
Oh yeah, and they didn't like that Dr Petit called their client, a man who admitted to beating Petit in the head with a bat"like he was chopping wood" ...an "animal" . within a letter he wrote to the court.
Interestingly, this is not the first time that komisarjevsky has become indignant over someone calling him an animal in a public forum; Last time, it was the prosecutor assigned to the 12 felony charges that he was convicted of several years prior to the Petit family crimes. He was on parole for those crimes when he decided to break into the Petit's home with a plan of sexually assaulting 11 year old michaela Petit whom he had stalked together with her mom at a neighborhood stop and shop.
In the sentencing transcript for that case, which was conspicuously absent from his criminal file, along with most of his pertinent criminal records when the state decided to parole him, one can read verbatim Mr komisarjevsky bitterly complaining to the court that the prosecutor referred to him as" a wild animal within one of his addresses to the court concerning the seriousness of the crimes.
If you read the rest of the transcript, which is available online, you will see that the presiding judge in that case also called komisarjevsky" a cold calculating predator who is a decided threat to the people of Connecticut"
This was clearly a savvy judge who recognized the signs of a dangerous offender whose crimes were escalating. He had intended Komisarjevsky be behind bars for 9 years minimum with 6 years of special parole. Instead, komisarjevsky was in a halfway house within 2 and a half years and paroled after 3. He was in solitary confinement at his own request during most of that stint due to "issues with other inmates'
Fast forward 4 robberies, a sexual assault of a minor, severe battery and three capital murders later and Komisarjevsky is still indignant over being called "an animal"- This time his hackles are up against the man whose family komisarjevsky stalked and hand picked for an evening of rape and robbery( in the MacDonald book as in his confession to police, he readily admits to this .
What is striking here is the audacity of this guy- He is not content to merely sit quietly and await his trial with even fiegned remorse or humility- but rather HE breaks a court ordered gag on the case, writing and meeting multiple times with a true crime writer for the purposes of publishing a book outlining the crimes and convienently placing all culpability for the murders on his co-defendent- steven hayes.
He knows that the book will be published quickly and this fits his motivation perfect;ly; his own trial is scheduled after hayes and this leaves plenty of time for his "version" of the crimes to take ahold and voila- they are transformed into" fact." Even the newspapers and online magazines seemed happy to oblige him, using komisarjevskys claims in the book and laundering them as verifiable fact. Titles like "2nd killer laughed maniaclly as he ran out of the burning Petit home." Not " first killer trying predicably to place blame for murders on his accomplice...."
Not surprisingly all of the " confessions" that komisarjevsky made in the book were connected to facts that were already well established by very prejudicial evidence against him ie nude pictures of michaela petit on his cell phone, phone records from his cell phone placing him at the Petit home and calls to his house and his job on the morning of the murders- clothing with gasoline and dna found on his person as he was caught fleeing the burning crime scene in the Petit family car. And testimoney of police at the scene one of whom witnessed BOTH MEN LAUGHING AS THEY RAN OUT OF THE BURNING HOME.
And in typical fashion he prattled to police detectives prior to lawyering up, a habit he had of almost bragging about his criminal exploits to astounded law enforcement.
Now Anyone who has watched Dr Petit' conducting himself within the pubic forum knows that he and the rest of his family have shown remarkable restraint when speaking of the two men responsible for the murders of their loved ones.
The fact that Hayes was put on suicide watch shortly after his arrest and continues to be on it for over two years, is not only not indicative of his guilt for the murders. as komisarjevsky and lawyers would have us believe, but rather shows me that Hayes, unlike his criminal counterpart, possesses at least some modicum of a human conscience. I absolutely believe that joshua komisarjevsky has none.
Ive concluded from the start that despite his older age, Hayes was the proverbial follower in these crimes, komisarjevsky the instigator -the crimes were his brainchild. He is a sociopath of the textbook variety-remember the hallmarks of anti-social personality disorder are manipulation, deception and a complete lack of conscience. This isn't to say that Socios cant feign these qualities when neccesary; theyll muster up whatever they surmise is neccesary in order to get out of the various scrapes that they get into with authorities and institutions in their lives- be it school, police depts, courts- crocodile tears notwithstanding.
By all accounts komisjevsky is intelligent and articulate and his boyish appearance that belies the criminal mindset beneath. I am guessing that his looks, his youth and his family's respectable middle class roots all combined to help him in escape appropriate consequences all of his life, whenever he was caught disregarding the rules, or the rights of others (another hallmark of the sociopath persona and teens with conduct disorder)
He set an abandoned gas station on fire at 15. He stalked a young girl who he knew from school repeatedly peering in her windows at night. He broke into neighbors homes over and over again. He was found to have stolen personal items from the women who lived in the homes that he broke into. Pictures lingerie clothing-This is a classic sign of the early stage sex offender. Once thought to be fairly innocuous, peeping toms and panty thieves have been exposed as serious pre-cursors to full blown sexual assault and murder.
Many would have served a full ten years for the sheer quantity and seriousness of the last string of house robberies that he committed in 2002. In almost every case the robberys took place at night when his victims were home, setting the stage for possible violent confrontation. Those home owners were violated, they were victims. Komisarjevsky bragged on more than one occasion that this was the only way "he got off" -breaking into empty houses was too boring he claimed. All of these facts, many of which hed shared with local police upon his arrest, should have been red flags for the Ct judicial system, especially the parole board.
to be continued ...
Its quite clear to me that this "book" that komisarjevsky spoon-fed writer Brian mcdonald, was created with the express purpose of re-vamping public opinion re komisarjevsky and the events that transpired on the night that Jennifer hawke Petit and her two daughters were murdered.
Despite a gag order imposed somewhat belatedly on the case, many facts including copies of redacted warrents were made public, and these facts were damning indeed for both defendents.
The book in the middle of the night which was in effect co-authored by komisarjevsky, was made in hopes of bamboozling the public and thus the potential jury pool -into believing that co-defendant Steven Hayes was responsible for all of the "really bad crimes" committed that fateful night.
The crimes that are in contention are the capital murder charges- these are the only ones punishable by death.
And thrown in the book for good measure is a generous helping of tragic childhood background replete with purported sexual molestation of komisarjevsky at the age of 14, which we have absolutely no way of verifying especially when one considers the chronic manipultive nature of this guy.
Either way the intention of the book is clear; humanize and very nearly excuse the behavior of this man who admittedly raped an 11 year old girl and at the very least largely contributed to the deaths of three human beings.
But What really irks me is the depths to which these lawyers sink in their rabid attempts to save their client from accountability for his own actions. This is not the first time I've heard or read about komisarjevsky and hayes's lawyers verbally assailing the sole survivor of their clients criminal rampage.
But somewhere in the middle of all of this they tryed the soft peddle approach, wooing Dr Petit and other members of the Petit/Hawke families via a thinly veiled letter from a "restorative justice firm" working on behalf of Komisarjevsky and co, which was in effect lawyers on the states public defender payroll posing as well meaning "intermediaries" between the defendent and surviving victim.
The letter offered to answer "any questions about the crimes" that Dr Petit and family might have and to clear up any misunderstandings" There was a name and a phone number of a third party contact proffered.
Dr Petit, an intelligent man, saw through the subterfuge and proceeded to refer the letter to the office of victims advocate as well as pursuing a protective order againt the entire komisarjevsky defense camp in order to block any more attempts at contacting him or his family.
Almost immediately following this, the komisarjevsky lawyers dropped thier schmoozing and did an about face, lashing out at Dr Petit in the press, accusing him of spear-heading a " public campaign to have their client put to death."
This of course only showed up the disingenuousness of thier recent conciliatory posturing.
Oh yeah, and they didn't like that Dr Petit called their client, a man who admitted to beating Petit in the head with a bat"like he was chopping wood" ...an "animal" . within a letter he wrote to the court.
Interestingly, this is not the first time that komisarjevsky has become indignant over someone calling him an animal in a public forum; Last time, it was the prosecutor assigned to the 12 felony charges that he was convicted of several years prior to the Petit family crimes. He was on parole for those crimes when he decided to break into the Petit's home with a plan of sexually assaulting 11 year old michaela Petit whom he had stalked together with her mom at a neighborhood stop and shop.
In the sentencing transcript for that case, which was conspicuously absent from his criminal file, along with most of his pertinent criminal records when the state decided to parole him, one can read verbatim Mr komisarjevsky bitterly complaining to the court that the prosecutor referred to him as" a wild animal within one of his addresses to the court concerning the seriousness of the crimes.
If you read the rest of the transcript, which is available online, you will see that the presiding judge in that case also called komisarjevsky" a cold calculating predator who is a decided threat to the people of Connecticut"
This was clearly a savvy judge who recognized the signs of a dangerous offender whose crimes were escalating. He had intended Komisarjevsky be behind bars for 9 years minimum with 6 years of special parole. Instead, komisarjevsky was in a halfway house within 2 and a half years and paroled after 3. He was in solitary confinement at his own request during most of that stint due to "issues with other inmates'
Fast forward 4 robberies, a sexual assault of a minor, severe battery and three capital murders later and Komisarjevsky is still indignant over being called "an animal"- This time his hackles are up against the man whose family komisarjevsky stalked and hand picked for an evening of rape and robbery( in the MacDonald book as in his confession to police, he readily admits to this .
What is striking here is the audacity of this guy- He is not content to merely sit quietly and await his trial with even fiegned remorse or humility- but rather HE breaks a court ordered gag on the case, writing and meeting multiple times with a true crime writer for the purposes of publishing a book outlining the crimes and convienently placing all culpability for the murders on his co-defendent- steven hayes.
He knows that the book will be published quickly and this fits his motivation perfect;ly; his own trial is scheduled after hayes and this leaves plenty of time for his "version" of the crimes to take ahold and voila- they are transformed into" fact." Even the newspapers and online magazines seemed happy to oblige him, using komisarjevskys claims in the book and laundering them as verifiable fact. Titles like "2nd killer laughed maniaclly as he ran out of the burning Petit home." Not " first killer trying predicably to place blame for murders on his accomplice...."
Not surprisingly all of the " confessions" that komisarjevsky made in the book were connected to facts that were already well established by very prejudicial evidence against him ie nude pictures of michaela petit on his cell phone, phone records from his cell phone placing him at the Petit home and calls to his house and his job on the morning of the murders- clothing with gasoline and dna found on his person as he was caught fleeing the burning crime scene in the Petit family car. And testimoney of police at the scene one of whom witnessed BOTH MEN LAUGHING AS THEY RAN OUT OF THE BURNING HOME.
And in typical fashion he prattled to police detectives prior to lawyering up, a habit he had of almost bragging about his criminal exploits to astounded law enforcement.
Now Anyone who has watched Dr Petit' conducting himself within the pubic forum knows that he and the rest of his family have shown remarkable restraint when speaking of the two men responsible for the murders of their loved ones.
The fact that Hayes was put on suicide watch shortly after his arrest and continues to be on it for over two years, is not only not indicative of his guilt for the murders. as komisarjevsky and lawyers would have us believe, but rather shows me that Hayes, unlike his criminal counterpart, possesses at least some modicum of a human conscience. I absolutely believe that joshua komisarjevsky has none.
Ive concluded from the start that despite his older age, Hayes was the proverbial follower in these crimes, komisarjevsky the instigator -the crimes were his brainchild. He is a sociopath of the textbook variety-remember the hallmarks of anti-social personality disorder are manipulation, deception and a complete lack of conscience. This isn't to say that Socios cant feign these qualities when neccesary; theyll muster up whatever they surmise is neccesary in order to get out of the various scrapes that they get into with authorities and institutions in their lives- be it school, police depts, courts- crocodile tears notwithstanding.
By all accounts komisjevsky is intelligent and articulate and his boyish appearance that belies the criminal mindset beneath. I am guessing that his looks, his youth and his family's respectable middle class roots all combined to help him in escape appropriate consequences all of his life, whenever he was caught disregarding the rules, or the rights of others (another hallmark of the sociopath persona and teens with conduct disorder)
He set an abandoned gas station on fire at 15. He stalked a young girl who he knew from school repeatedly peering in her windows at night. He broke into neighbors homes over and over again. He was found to have stolen personal items from the women who lived in the homes that he broke into. Pictures lingerie clothing-This is a classic sign of the early stage sex offender. Once thought to be fairly innocuous, peeping toms and panty thieves have been exposed as serious pre-cursors to full blown sexual assault and murder.
Many would have served a full ten years for the sheer quantity and seriousness of the last string of house robberies that he committed in 2002. In almost every case the robberys took place at night when his victims were home, setting the stage for possible violent confrontation. Those home owners were violated, they were victims. Komisarjevsky bragged on more than one occasion that this was the only way "he got off" -breaking into empty houses was too boring he claimed. All of these facts, many of which hed shared with local police upon his arrest, should have been red flags for the Ct judicial system, especially the parole board.
to be continued ...
Attorneys: gag order doesn't apply to Cheshire murder defendant The Republican-American
Boy, these lawyers have no shame whatsoever.
Nov 26, 2009
Give to The Domestic Violence Hotline...
Message below from Cherl Cates CEO of National Domestic Hotline
Community of Hope
Every day I wonder what the holidays would mean if I were not surrounded by the people I love and trust most in this world: my family. This noisy, funny, feisty clan shows their love for me repeatedly with acts of generosity and acceptance, large and small, which tells me they will always be there for me, no matter what. They are my safe harbor, my community of hope.
For those of us who do not share the safe harbor of family, who fear the stress and heartbreak that holidays inevitably bring to some, you are not alone. There are communities of hope for you, and people who can help. One call to the Hotline will help you find compassion, courage, and a commitment to help. These are the beginnings of hope and a new life.
To others far more fortunate, you are in a position to help someone else, and I ask that you join the National Domestic Violence Hotline in creating communities of hope for everyone who makes that difficult call for help over the holidays. We make ourselves and everyone stronger through our compassion, courage and commitment. To give the gift of hope is to give the gift of life. Please give generously.
By Sheryl Cates
CEO, National Domestic Violence Hotline
Call The Hotline: 1−800−799−SAFE(7233)
or TTY 1−800−787−3224
If someone inspires you, consider making a donation in their name
Share your story of hope
Join our online community working to end violence
Follow us on twitter or add us on facebook
Community of Hope
Every day I wonder what the holidays would mean if I were not surrounded by the people I love and trust most in this world: my family. This noisy, funny, feisty clan shows their love for me repeatedly with acts of generosity and acceptance, large and small, which tells me they will always be there for me, no matter what. They are my safe harbor, my community of hope.
For those of us who do not share the safe harbor of family, who fear the stress and heartbreak that holidays inevitably bring to some, you are not alone. There are communities of hope for you, and people who can help. One call to the Hotline will help you find compassion, courage, and a commitment to help. These are the beginnings of hope and a new life.
To others far more fortunate, you are in a position to help someone else, and I ask that you join the National Domestic Violence Hotline in creating communities of hope for everyone who makes that difficult call for help over the holidays. We make ourselves and everyone stronger through our compassion, courage and commitment. To give the gift of hope is to give the gift of life. Please give generously.
By Sheryl Cates
CEO, National Domestic Violence Hotline
Call The Hotline: 1−800−799−SAFE(7233)
or TTY 1−800−787−3224
If someone inspires you, consider making a donation in their name
Share your story of hope
Join our online community working to end violence
Follow us on twitter or add us on facebook
Nov 20, 2009
Nov 19, 2009
Richard Meehan: Cheshire slayings book pushes First Amendment limits - Norwich, CT - Norwich Bulletin
Very good, thoughtful op-ed piece regarding the controversy surrounding the new book written about The Petit family murders.
Nov 17, 2009
Nov 15, 2009
Murder in America : The New Yorker
A very good essay that centers around the Petit family murders and thier implication in the bigger picture of our countries violent nature.
Nov 9, 2009
Rihanna: 'No Soul' in Chris Brown's Eyes
Despite the fact that this case involved partner violence and all of its trappings I've stayed away from this story for some time because so much publicity was being given to the case and almost all of it the wrong kind-You know,the kind that would seem to delight in the ugliness of the rich and celebrity falling down on their faces, if you will.
But the other day I caught some of the Rhianna interview with Dianne sawyer and I was soon Struck with respect and admiration for this young woman, who despite a very public experience with severe interpersonal violence, managed to defy the worlds expectations, my own included, and extricate herself from her clearly dangerous relationship with Chris Brown and learn some important things about herself through this ordeal.
For a time just following the assault there was evidence that Rhianna had returned to the relationship- at one point being very vocal about her lack of desire or the need for that matter for the protective order against Chris Brown, which the presiding judge wisely ordered despite her complaints for a minimum of one year.
In fact It seemed almost a foregone conclusion at that point that Rhianna had fallen victim to one version or another of the classic " battered woman syndrome", a variation of the Stockholm syndrome ,whereupon victims of abuse are trapped in a cycle of violence and conciliatory gestures aka the honeymoon period following the episodes of abuse. Bear in mind that this is a very pared down and simplistic definition of these relationships, there are many dynamics at play and very often a victim of ongoing abuse has to be deprogrammed in order to truly break away long enough to pull back and view her own predicament realistically. I think that Rhianna, by the grace of god, was the recipient of some serious intervention and thankfully had the strength to listen, and ultimately listened to her own inner voice, which the longer she was away from the abusive relationship, the louder it became.
So today whilst mulling over the aforementioned interview and what I wanted to write about it on this very forum, the abovetitled caption on a webpage grabbed my attention; I was immedietly compelled to read more about this statement re Browns "soulless eyes."
I instinctively knew exactly what that meant.
I too have seen those "soulless" eyes.
In fact, I tried to describe this very phenomenon to the local area detective who was assigned to my criminal case many years ago; I believe I likened my assailants eyes during and after the attack to a souless animal .human.
As a survivor nyself there were a good many things that I related to with Rhianna but one of the most emotional for me was something that she said about thinking that the assault upon her seemed to " go on and on and on " and she just kept "wondering "when is it going to stop?"
When I read those words, that exact emotional remembrance flooded back, it seemed the crimes had just happened,, rather than the eight years which have passed since then.
To be Continued as I have a feeling Ms Rhianna is srill stuck in the cycle.
But the other day I caught some of the Rhianna interview with Dianne sawyer and I was soon Struck with respect and admiration for this young woman, who despite a very public experience with severe interpersonal violence, managed to defy the worlds expectations, my own included, and extricate herself from her clearly dangerous relationship with Chris Brown and learn some important things about herself through this ordeal.
For a time just following the assault there was evidence that Rhianna had returned to the relationship- at one point being very vocal about her lack of desire or the need for that matter for the protective order against Chris Brown, which the presiding judge wisely ordered despite her complaints for a minimum of one year.
In fact It seemed almost a foregone conclusion at that point that Rhianna had fallen victim to one version or another of the classic " battered woman syndrome", a variation of the Stockholm syndrome ,whereupon victims of abuse are trapped in a cycle of violence and conciliatory gestures aka the honeymoon period following the episodes of abuse. Bear in mind that this is a very pared down and simplistic definition of these relationships, there are many dynamics at play and very often a victim of ongoing abuse has to be deprogrammed in order to truly break away long enough to pull back and view her own predicament realistically. I think that Rhianna, by the grace of god, was the recipient of some serious intervention and thankfully had the strength to listen, and ultimately listened to her own inner voice, which the longer she was away from the abusive relationship, the louder it became.
So today whilst mulling over the aforementioned interview and what I wanted to write about it on this very forum, the abovetitled caption on a webpage grabbed my attention; I was immedietly compelled to read more about this statement re Browns "soulless eyes."
I instinctively knew exactly what that meant.
I too have seen those "soulless" eyes.
In fact, I tried to describe this very phenomenon to the local area detective who was assigned to my criminal case many years ago; I believe I likened my assailants eyes during and after the attack to a souless animal .human.
As a survivor nyself there were a good many things that I related to with Rhianna but one of the most emotional for me was something that she said about thinking that the assault upon her seemed to " go on and on and on " and she just kept "wondering "when is it going to stop?"
When I read those words, that exact emotional remembrance flooded back, it seemed the crimes had just happened,, rather than the eight years which have passed since then.
To be Continued as I have a feeling Ms Rhianna is srill stuck in the cycle.
Nov 8, 2009
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