By Christian Nolan, From The Connecticut Law Tribune
A divided Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that the retroactive application of the death penalty is unconstitutional, thus eliminating capital punishment altogether in the state.
The decision bars the state from executing the remaining 11 prisoners on death row. The 11 men had been sentenced to death before state lawmakers repealed capital punishment three years ago.
The repeal eliminated the death penalty while setting life in prison without the possibility of release as the punishment for crimes formerly considered capital offenses.
The state’s 11 death row inmates include individuals such as Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes, who were sentenced to death for killing a mother and her two daughters in a 2007 home invasion in Cheshire.
The state’s high court ruling comes in an appeal from Eduardo Santiago, whose attorneys had argued that any execution carried out after repeal would constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Santiago faced the possibility of lethal injection for a 2000 murder-for-hire killing in West Hartford.
“In light of the apparent intent of the legislature in prospectively repealing the death penalty and this state’s failure to implement and operate a fair and functional system of capital punishment, we conclude that the state constitution no longer permits the execution of individuals sentenced to death,” wrote Justice Richard Palmer in the 92-page majority decision.
Connecticut has had just one execution since 1960. Serial killer Michael Ross was put to death in 2005 after winning a legal fight to end his appeals.
Three separate dissents were written by justices, including a 75-page dissent by Chief Justice Chase Rogers.
“In making this determination, the majority disregards the obvious: the legislature, which represents the people of the state and is the best indicator of contemporary societal mores, expressly retained the death penalty for crimes committed before the effective date” of the prospective repeal, opined Rogers. “The majority’s determination that the death penalty is unconstitutional under our state constitution is based on a house of cards, falling under the slightest breath of scrutiny.”
A representative for the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney said the office had no comment at this time and was reviewing the decision.
Lauren Weisfeld, chief of legal services in the state public defenders’ appellate office, praised the work of Assistant Public Defender Mark Rademacher, who handled the case. Rademacher is unavailable for comment this week.
“Many people have worked long and hard to get to this result and we think that the court reached the right result,” said Weisfeld.
For more on this story go to: http://www.ctlawtribune.com/id=1202734683202/Supreme-Court-Rules-Death-Penalty-Is-Unconstitutional#ixzz3inmzUL7p
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