HARTFORD—Connecticut Republicans are trying to make political hay out of the tragic death of a one-year old baby last month.
Senate Republicans said the fatal stabbing of Zaniyah Calloway by a Waterbury man released early from prison could have been prevented if Gov. Dannel P. Malloy had not signed an early release bill.
“I don’t know how he puts his head on a pillow at night. This guy was bad in jail before he killed a baby,” said State Sen Len Fasano, R-North Haven, in a story posted on Fasano’s Senate web page.
A Malloy spokesman said in a statement that violent offenders have served longer sentences during Malloy’s tenure than previous administrations.
The issue revolves around Arthur Hapgood, who was arrested for Calloway’s murder.
The state Department of Corrections said Hapgood would have been out of jail long before last month’s murder if he had served 100 percent of a pervious sentence. He served 90 percent of that sentence before being released in May 2013.