Lawmakers Ask Rell To “Fix” For Capital Punishment, Or Ratifiy Its Abolition

The co-chairmen of the legislative Judiciary Committee today raised the heat on Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who has promised to veto the legislation that would repeal the Connecticut death penalty.
Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford and Rep. Mike Lawlor, D-East Haven, challenged Rell to offer a “detailed” proposal to make the current law workable, if she indeed vetoes the bill that passed the House and Senate and should be reaching her desk next week, now that the session’s over and the Legislative Commissioner’s Office can spend time reviewing it.
“As you know,” they wrote to Rell this morning, “we consider the death penalty in Connecticut to be a false promise to the families of murder victims who are being subjected to a lifetime of appeals. If you decide to keep this sentence in place, we believe that would be only one half of a response. The second half – your affirmative proposal – would be just as vital as the first half.
In anticipation that Rell will a) veto the bill; and b) offer a plan, McDonald and Lawlor have tentatively schedule a committee hearing for July 22 at 11 a.m. Mark your calendar.