Committee votes down Nash request to sue

HARTFORD — A reluctant, empathetic Judiciary Committee this afternoon turned down Charla Nash’s request for permission to sue Connecticut for allowing Travis the chimp to maul here in a near-fatal attack in Stamford.

The vote, after 25 minutes of debate, was overwhelming. The bill still awaits action in the House and Senate.

“I am heartbroken,” Nash said in a statement after the vote. “The fact that I will not be able to tell my side of the story to a court of law is devastating. This process isn’t fair. Right now, I need some time to think things through and talk with my family. I wanted a chance to be able to pay my medical bills and get the assistance I need to live as normal of a life as possible. I can’t give up hope now. This means too much to my daughter Briana and me.”