Petit Family Murders in CT-2007 SOLVED-Death Sentence for both men.

[San]

How can these jurors have sympathy for this monster.   

[Sister]

Impaired, of course he is impaired.  No one not impaired would do what he did.  Did he know the difference between right and wrong . . . absolutely!!!  Come on people, do what is right and not what may feel better.

[San]

Impaired, of course he is impaired.  No one not impaired would do what he did.  Did he know the difference between right and wrong . . . absolutely!!!  Come on people, do what is right and not what may feel better.

I agree.  He knew the difference between right and wrong.  This was a premeditated murder.  Once they bought the gasoline they planned to murder this family from the get go.

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/execution_deadlock_fKrAF1c6P00F2YeMvBcWyM
Slay jury deadlock

By LAURA ITALIANO
Last Updated: 7:19 AM, November 6, 2010
Posted: 1:21 AM, November 6, 2010
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Call it sympathy for the devil.

Jurors in the home-invasion murders of a Connecticut nurse and her two daughters must return for a second day of death-penalty deliberations today, because an unknown number of them are determined to spare the life of monster Stephen Hayes.

The looming possible deadlock left Hayes smiling broadly. Meanwhile, the attack's sole survivor, Dr. William Petit, and his supporters left court solemnly, after exchanging grim hugs in the hallway of New Haven Superior Court, where Hayes has been on trial for two months.

Jurors are deciding if Hayes gets lethal injection or life without parole for raping and strangling Petit's wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and for helping to burn alive the couple's daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11.

Jurors have been told they'll work today and tomorrow if needed.



Fry him. 

[San]

Family murder jury still out, but clapping heard

By DOUG MONTERO
Last Updated: 1:36 PM, November 6, 2010
Posted: 1:35 PM, November 6, 2010

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/family_murder_jury_still_out_but_BzJhttDp0avE8j31RQUhsJ#ixzz14WfMkYBz

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Day Two of death penalty deliberations in the home invasion murder of a nurse and her two daughters is continuing into the afternoon today, but with one sign of hope for a resolution -- the sound of applause from the jury room.

Panel members had looked exhausted upon leaving court yesterday, apparently mired in disagreement over whether to spare the life of monster strangler, rapist and arsonist Steven Hayes because his shrinks say he is mentally "impaired."

Ordered back today for weekend deliberations on whether Hayes lives or dies, jurors asked for and sat through a brief read back from prosecutors' cross examination last week of Hayes' main defense psychiatrist.

Once they back into the deliberations room, the muffled sound of group applause could be heard.

Jurors are deciding if Hayes gets lethal injection of life without parole for raping and strangling pediatric nurse Jennifer Hawke-Petit and helping to literally burn alive her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, who had been tied to their beds and doused with gasoline.

The same jury now weighing mitigating and aggravating factors in determining his ultimate fate also sat through nearly two months of testimony about the heinousness of the crimes before agreeing Oct. 5 to convict him of six death-penalty-eligible murder charges.

[San]

I hope the jurors weren't swayed this monsters shrink.

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.wtsp.com/news/national/story.aspx?storyid=155060&catid=81
urors seek clarification on mitigating factors in home invasion case
 Daniel Trotter     43 mins ago   11/07/10
New Haven, Connecticut (CNN) -- Jurors in Connecticut will resume deliberations Sunday to determine whether to sentence a man convicted of killing two sisters and their mother in a brutal 2007 home invasion to death.

Jurors recessed Saturday without deciding the sentence of Steven Hayes, who was convicted in the killings. He faces life in prison or death.

Judge Jon Blue ordered the five men and seven women on the jury to resume at 10 a.m. Sunday. Total deliberation time in the sentencing phase of the trial now stands at around 11 hours.

Earlier Saturday, the jury sent a note requesting a read-back of some of the testimony of Dr. Eric Goldsmith, a psychiatrist who had said Hayes was impaired at the time of the crimes and experienced extreme rage. Goldsmith was a witness for the defense.

On Friday, the jury asked Blue for clarification of the statute regarding mitigating factors -- evidence presented that would provide a reason for a sentence less than death. "How do we fill out the form?" the jurors asked.
Blue instructed the panel members that they could not go into the second phase -- determining whether the prosecution has proven the aggravating factors -- until they were unanimous about whether there were mitigating factors.

Hayes' lawyer has told jurors his client would suffer more if given a life sentence.

"Life in prison without the possibility of release is the harshest penalty," Tom Ullmann said. "It is a fate worse than death."

Ullmann asked his 47-year-old client to stand in front of the jury. He put his hand on Hayes' shoulder and said to the jurors, "He isn't a rabid dog that needs to be put to death. He has lost 80 pounds. He will never have a private bath. He goes to the bathroom in public. He will never eat a dinner that he makes, but one that they provide. He has a rec cage for an hour a day. Like an animal at the zoo."

As he stood, Hayes -- who did not testify during the trial -- looked at the floor.

"If you want to end his misery, put him to death. ... If you want him to suffer and carry that burden forever, the guilt, shame and humiliation, sentence him to life without the possibility of release," his lawyer said.

Prosecuting attorney Michael Dearington persuaded jurors to order Hayes be executed for his role in the deaths of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and her daughters, Hayley Petit, 17, and Michaela Petit, 11.

"We cannot tie Steven Hayes to a bed, pour gasoline on him and set him on fire," Dearington said, referring to the killings. "But under our laws, we do have the death penalty."

He added that the Petit family had been "destroyed because Steven Hayes wanted money."

A psychiatrist testified in October that Hayes had told him he would rather be executed.
The high school dropout said he had a long history of substance abuse, the psychiatrist said.

But Dearington said that should not be an excuse for the murders.

"Drugs don't necessarily lead to violent crimes," he said.

Hayes was convicted last month of 16 of the 17 charges against him, including nine counts of murder and capital murder, and four counts of kidnapping.

Prosecutors allege that Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky invaded the Petit home in Cheshire, Connecticut; beat Dr. William Petit; raped and strangled his wife, sexually molested one of their daughters; set the house afire; and tried to flee.

The girls died of smoke inhalation. Their father escaped to a neighbor's home.

Komisarjevsky will be tried separately.

In Session's Sunny Hostin and Nancy Leung contributed to this story.

[trimmonthelake]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=12074176
Jury in Conn. Home Invasion Case Back for 3rd Day
Jury to deliberate for 3rd day on punishment for Conn. man convicted of home invasion killings
The Associated Press
Post a Comment
By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN Associated Press
NEW HAVEN, Conn. November 7, 2010 (AP)
A Connecticut jury will begin a third day of deliberations on whether a man convicted in a deadly home invasion should be executed.

The New Haven jury considering the punishment for Steven Hayes resumes its work Sunday morning.

Hayes was convicted last month of killing a Cheshire woman and her two daughters in 2007.

His attorney has argued that Hayes is so isolated and anguished by the crime that life in prison would be worse than death.

But prosecutors say the death penalty is justice for a crime so heinous. They say Hayes and his co-defendant, Joshua Komisarjevsky (koh-mih-sar-JEV'-skee), were on a "power trip" when they tormented the family for seven hours before they killed them.

Komisarjevsky is awaiting trial.

WTF? 

[cookie]

 
 
Cookie does not understand the dilemma of this jury....

[cookie]

 
Cookie does not understand the dilemma of this jury....

in other words, fry the POS!

[Blonde]

Hayes Jury Reaches Verdict
Jury Deliberating Since Friday

POSTED: 10:03 am EST November 8, 2010
UPDATED: 11:24 am EST November 8, 2010


NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The jury for convicted killer Steven Hayes has decided whether he should receive life in prison or death for his role in the 2007 Cheshire home invasion.

The jury has been deliberating since Friday.

Hayes was convicted last month of killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley and Michaela, during a home invasion in 2007.

Prosecutors said the death penalty is justice for a crime so heinous. They said Hayes and his co-defendant, Joshua Komisarkevsky, were on a "power trip" when they tormented the family for seven hours before killing them.

Hayes' lawyers argued that he should be spared the death penalty because his mental capacity was significantly impaired.

Dr. William Petit was the sole survivor.

http://www.wfsb.com/news/25670219/detail.html?treets=hart&tml=hart_break&ts=T&tmi=hart_break_1_10250111082010

[Blonde]

The  Hayes Jury Reaches Verdict is DEATH

[Nana29]

The  Hayes Jury Reaches Verdict is DEATH

        

[trimmonthelake]

The  Hayes Jury Reaches Verdict is DEATH

        

  Finally!

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/hc-hayes-verdict-death-penalty-20101108,0,6499615.story
Hayes Sentenced To Death In Cheshire Murders
Jury Finds For Death On All Six Possible Death-Penalty Counts
By ALAINE GRIFFIN, agriffin@courant.com

11:06 a.m. CST, November 8, 2010
A Superior Court jury today sentenced Steven Hayes to death for the murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley and Michaela, during a seven-hour home invasion, robbery and arson at their Cheshire home in July 2007.

Hayes stood by as the jury of seven women and five men sentenced him to death row.

The jury sentenced Hayes to death on all six possible death-penalty counts: killing Hawke-Petit and Michaela and Hayley in the course of a single action; killing a child under the age of 16; killing Hawke-Petit in the course of a kidnapping; killing Hayley in the course of a kidnapping; killing Michaela in the course of a kidnapping; and killing Hawke-Petit in the course of a sexual assault.

As the verdicts were read, Dr. William Petit Jr. became emotional, his eyes filling with tears as the victim's advocate grabbed his hand. At one point, upon hearing the names of his wife and daughters as the clerk read the verdicts a second time, Petit closed his eyes.

Nearby, Petit's mother, his sister and several other relatives also cried, some dropping their heads as the court clerk read through the verdicts.
Several jurors cried and comforted one another with touches on hands or arms. Some looked over at the Petit family as the verdicts were read.

Hayes, 47, of Winsted, was convicted Oct. 5 of breaking into the Petit home, beating Petit, tying up and torturing the family as Hayes and another man ransacked the home for cash and valuables and tortured the family for seven hours. Testimony during Hayes' trial showed that at one point in the break-in, Hayes forced Hawke-Petit to go to the bank to withdraw money. During that time, according to testimony, the other defendant in the case, Joshua Komisarjevsky, sexually assaulted Michaela Petit, 11.

When Hawke-Petit and Hayes returned from the bank, Hayes raped and strangled Hawke-Petit. The house was doused with gasoline and set on fire as the intruders fled, testimony showed. Hayley, 17, and Michaela died of smoke inhalation.

Komisarjevsky, 30, of Cheshire, is scheduled to go to trial next year. He also faces the death penalty if convicted of the killings.

After the evidence phase of the trial, the jury convicted him on six capital felony charges which meant Hayes automatically faced a death penalty hearing in which jurors would decide whether Hayes should be sentenced to death by lethal injection or life in prison without the possibility of release.
During the penalty phase, Hayes lawyers portrayed him as a drug-addicted follower and a bumbling petty thief, raised in an abusive, troubled houeshold who uncharacteristically was persuaded by Komisarjevsky to go along with the plan to invade the Petit's home. Komisarjevsky played a major role in Hayes' defense. They told jurors Komisarjevsky was an evil schemer and longtime burglar who masterminded the attack on the Petit family.

To bolster their claims, the defense had excerpts of Komisarjevsky's prison journals read to jurors that included chilling details of the crime and long bragging passages of his alleged work as a serial burglar.

They also used the testimony of an expert witness who interviewed Hayes over several hours. He said Hayes told him that Komisarjevsky told Hayes he had killed the Petit family after Hayes had returned from the bank with Hawke-Petit. The expert said Hayes became enraged and as a result, raped and strangled Hawke-Petit.

The expert said that this extreme emotional reaction was the type that a jury considering the death penalty could view as a mitigating factor.

The defense argued that Hayes was so determined to kill himself, Hayes planned to feign no remorse in front of the jury at his trial so jurors would vote for execution.
During closing arguments, New Haven Public Defender Thomas J. Ullmann urged jurors to spare Hayes' life and give him life in prison where he could think for the rest of his life about the murders - thoughts, Ullmann said, that already plague a suicidal Hayes with guilt and nightmares.

"If you want to end Steven Hayes' torment, you should kill him. If you want to end his misery, you should execute him. If you want to end his despair, you should sentence him to death," Ullmann said to the jury.

But prosecutors rejected the defense arguments, saying the Hayes' account of the crime as told to the expert differed from what Hayes told police shortly after his arrest. They painted a much different portrait of Hayes: that of a self-aware, manipulative inmate shrewd to how his self-professed suicide attempts - and the prison system's reporting of them - could affect whether he received life in prison without the possibility of release or death.

Prosecutors used the words of Hayes' younger brother Matthew to counter testimony that home-invasion crime was an aberration in Hayes otherwise troubled but basically nonviolent life.

Matthew Hayes portrayed his brother as a conniving, sadistic, violent thief who saw Matthew take countless beatings from his brutal father for Steven Hayes' misdeeds. At one point, Steven Hayes held a gun to Matthew's head, according to the statement, which was given to state police after the home invasion.
Examples of Hayes' sadistic behavior toward his brother included hooking Matthew to the garage door by his belt and raising the door up and down, and holding Matthew's hand to a red-hot burner. Matthew said his brother's life of crime was not a result of bad parenting or poor childhood. He said Hayes never learned to take responsibility for his actions.

"Steven is what Steven is because he's a coward," Matthew Hayes wrote.

Jurors can impose the death penalty in 35 states throughout the country. In Connecticut, where nine inmates sit on death row, executions are rare.

The last person to be executed in Connecticut was serial killer Michael Ross in 2005. The execution occurred only after Ross waged a legal fight to end his appeals and to have the sentence imposed. Before Ross, the last execution in Connecticut was in 1960, when the state electrocuted Joseph "Mad Dog" Taborsky for a robbery spree that resulted in six murders.

[trimmonthelake]

 
Cookie does not understand the dilemma of this jury....

in other words, fry the POS!

  

[2NJSons_Mom]

http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/cheshire-home-invasion/hc-hayes-verdict-death-penalty-20101108,0,548522,print.story

Courant.com
Hayes Sentenced To Death In Cheshire Murders
Jury Finds For Death On All Six Possible Death-Penalty CountsBy ALAINE GRIFFIN, agriffin@courant.com

12:06 PM EST, November 8, 2010


A Superior Court jury today sentenced Steven Hayes to death for the murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley and Michaela, during a seven-hour home invasion, robbery and arson at their Cheshire home in July 2007.

Hayes stood by as the jury of seven women and five men sentenced him to death row.

The jury sentenced Hayes to death on all six possible death-penalty counts: killing Hawke-Petit and Michaela and Hayley in the course of a single action; killing a child under the age of 16; killing Hawke-Petit in the course of a kidnapping; killing Hayley in the course of a kidnapping; killing Michaela in the course of a kidnapping; and killing Hawke-Petit in the course of a sexual assault.

As the verdicts were read, Dr. William Petit Jr. became emotional, his eyes filling with tears as the victim's advocate grabbed his hand. At one point, upon hearing the names of his wife and daughters as the clerk read the verdicts a second time, Petit closed his eyes.

Nearby, Petit's mother, his sister and several other relatives also cried, some dropping their heads as the court clerk read through the verdicts.

Several jurors cried and comforted one another with touches on hands or arms. Some looked over at the Petit family as the verdicts were read.

Hayes, 47, of Winsted, was convicted Oct. 5 of breaking into the Petit home, beating Petit, tying up and torturing the family as Hayes and another man ransacked the home for cash and valuables and tortured the family for seven hours. Testimony during Hayes' trial showed that at one point in the break-in, Hayes forced Hawke-Petit to go to the bank to withdraw money. During that time, according to testimony, the other defendant in the case, Joshua Komisarjevsky, sexually assaulted Michaela Petit, 11.

When Hawke-Petit and Hayes returned from the bank, Hayes raped and strangled Hawke-Petit. The house was doused with gasoline and set on fire as the intruders fled, testimony showed. Hayley, 17, and Michaela died of smoke inhalation.

Komisarjevsky, 30, of Cheshire, is scheduled to go to trial next year. He also faces the death penalty if convicted of the killings.

After the evidence phase of the trial, the jury convicted him on six capital felony charges which meant Hayes automatically faced a death penalty hearing in which jurors would decide whether Hayes should be sentenced to death by lethal injection or life in prison without the possibility of release.

During the penalty phase, Hayes lawyers portrayed him as a drug-addicted follower and a bumbling petty thief, raised in an abusive, troubled houeshold who uncharacteristically was persuaded by Komisarjevsky to go along with the plan to invade the Petit's home. Komisarjevsky played a major role in Hayes' defense. They told jurors Komisarjevsky was an evil schemer and longtime burglar who masterminded the attack on the Petit family.

To bolster their claims, the defense had excerpts of Komisarjevsky's prison journals read to jurors that included chilling details of the crime and long bragging passages of his alleged work as a serial burglar.

They also used the testimony of an expert witness who interviewed Hayes over several hours. He said Hayes told him that Komisarjevsky told Hayes he had killed the Petit family after Hayes had returned from the bank with Hawke-Petit. The expert said Hayes became enraged and as a result, raped and strangled Hawke-Petit.

The expert said that this extreme emotional reaction was the type that a jury considering the death penalty could view as a mitigating factor.

The defense argued that Hayes was so determined to kill himself, Hayes planned to feign no remorse in front of the jury at his trial so jurors would vote for execution.

During closing arguments, New Haven Public Defender Thomas J. Ullmann urged jurors to spare Hayes' life and give him life in prison where he could think for the rest of his life about the murders - thoughts, Ullmann said, that already plague a suicidal Hayes with guilt and nightmares.

"If you want to end Steven Hayes' torment, you should kill him. If you want to end his misery, you should execute him. If you want to end his despair, you should sentence him to death," Ullmann said to the jury.

But prosecutors rejected the defense arguments, saying the Hayes' account of the crime as told to the expert differed from what Hayes told police shortly after his arrest. They painted a much different portrait of Hayes: that of a self-aware, manipulative inmate shrewd to how his self-professed suicide attempts - and the prison system's reporting of them - could affect whether he received life in prison without the possibility of release or death.

Prosecutors used the words of Hayes' younger brother Matthew to counter testimony that home-invasion crime was an aberration in Hayes otherwise troubled but basically nonviolent life.

Matthew Hayes portrayed his brother as a conniving, sadistic, violent thief who saw Matthew take countless beatings from his brutal father for Steven Hayes' misdeeds. At one point, Steven Hayes held a gun to Matthew's head, according to the statement, which was given to state police after the home invasion.

Examples of Hayes' sadistic behavior toward his brother included hooking Matthew to the garage door by his belt and raising the door up and down, and holding Matthew's hand to a red-hot burner. Matthew said his brother's life of crime was not a result of bad parenting or poor childhood. He said Hayes never learned to take responsibility for his actions.

"Steven is what Steven is because he's a coward," Matthew Hayes wrote.

Jurors can impose the death penalty in 35 states throughout the country. In Connecticut, where nine inmates sit on death row, executions are rare.

The last person to be executed in Connecticut was serial killer Michael Ross in 2005. The execution occurred only after Ross waged a legal fight to end his appeals and to have the sentence imposed. Before Ross, the last execution in Connecticut was in 1960, when the state electrocuted Joseph "Mad Dog" Taborsky for a robbery spree that resulted in six murders.



We tell you what's happening, when it happens, for FREE:
 Sign-up for Breaking News Mobile Text Alerts: Text NEWS, WEATHER or TRAFFIC to 37798
 Subscribe to our Breaking News E-mails
 Try the News@3 Newsletter


Copyright © 2010, The Hartford Courant

 

[San]

AND THE JURY HAS SPOKEN

From the above article:

During closing arguments, New Haven Public Defender Thomas J. Ullmann urged jurors to spare Hayes' life and give him life in prison where he could think for the rest of his life about the murders - thoughts, Ullmann said, that already plague a suicidal Hayes with guilt and nightmares.

"If you want to end Steven Hayes' torment, you should kill him. If you want to end his misery, you should execute him. If you want to end his despair, you should sentence him to death," Ullmann said to the jury.

[4 Donks]

AND THE JURY HAS SPOKEN

From the above article:

During closing arguments, New Haven Public Defender Thomas J. Ullmann urged jurors to spare Hayes' life and give him life in prison where he could think for the rest of his life about the murders - thoughts, Ullmann said, that already plague a suicidal Hayes with guilt and nightmares.

"If you want to end Steven Hayes' torment, you should kill him. If you want to end his misery, you should execute him. If you want to end his despair, you should sentence him to death," Ullmann said to the jury.

And the jury showing compassion and mercy agreed to put his suffering to an end.

[Tamikosmom]