Record-Journal
08-15-2007, 01:22 AM
CHESHIRE — A rally in support of strengthening the “three-strikes” law in Connecticut has attracted so much attention, it could bring hundreds of supporters to Bartlem Park tonight, according to organizers.
One of the speakers at the event will be Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele, who will attend on behalf of Gov. M. Jodi Rell. Spokesman Chris Cooper said Fedele will read a statement from Rell, who is unable to attend.
“She’s open to reviewing the system,” Cooper said of Rell’s response to calls for a stronger “three-strikes” law.
“Nothing is off the table.” Rell has called for a top-to-bottom review of the judiciary system since two parolees with lengthy arrest records were charged in a July 23 triple homicide in Cheshire.
“Legislators respond to numbers,” said rally organizer Marilyn Bartoli. The group hopes to persuade legislators to call a special session to enact tougher mandatory sentences for repeat offenders, Bartoli wrote in a statement last week.
“Clearly, in regard to what's happened in our town, (current legislation) is not working," Bartoli has said.
Over the past two weeks, more than 38,000 people have signed an online petition urging state officials to strengthen Connecticut's “three strikes” law. They want offenders to serve a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison after three serious felony convictions.
But it is doubtful the stronger law would have stopped the two suspects in the Cheshire deaths, Steven Hayes, 44, of Winsted, and Joshua Komisarjevsky, 26, of Cheshire, said Rep. Michael Lawlor, co-chairman of the legislature's Judiciary Committee and a former state prosecutor.
Lawlor said some state lawmakers want a “three strikes” law similar to California’s. But Lawlor, who is in Canada attending a conference of state government officials, said a California criminology professor told legislators at the gathering this week that neither suspect in the Cheshire case would have been affected by the California law, considered among the most severe in the nation.
While Komisarjevsky was sentenced in 2003 to nine years in prison for second-degree burglary, stemming from a series of mostly nighttime break-ins, he had no previous convictions or “strikes.” And even though Hayes has been arrested at least 26 times, his record includes mostly car burglaries, drug charges and check forgeries. There were no convictions for residential burglaries on his record, Lawlor said Tuesday.
Therefore, Hayes’ crimes, Lawlor said, would not have triggered the automatic 25-years-to-life sentence in California because they were not violent or serious felonies.
"Under the California 'three strikes and you're out' law, neither one of these guys would have been eligible for it," said Lawlor, D-East Haven. "The people that are rallying, they believe these two guys had many previous convictions for breaking into houses, which was not true."
The California law requires that an offender's first two strikes stem from violent or serious felonies. But the third strike can be any type of felony, Lawlor said. The state is now grappling with a burgeoning prison population and the prospect of spending $6 billion on more prisons in the coming years.
At least 24 states have some version of a "three-strikes" law, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Late last month, state Senate Republicans called for mandatory 25-years-to-life sentences for the most serious repeat criminals. They called on the majority Democrats to make the issue a priority for the special legislative session later this summer.
"Connecticut's existing laws regarding penalties for serial felons and persistent offenders are permissive, not mandatory," said Sen. Leonard Fasano, R-North Haven, who is expected to attend the rally. "We need laws that do not allow for lenient treatment of career criminals whose actions are deemed to be dangerous, but not necessarily violent."
Republicans also want to impose stronger penalties for burglaries, especially those committed when a home is occupied. During a string of burglaries from 2000 and 2001, Komisarjevsky would wear latex gloves and night-vision goggles and brought along a knife to cut window screens so he could slip into homes while the occupants slept.
Connecticut passed its “three-strikes” law in 1994. Prosecutors can seek a full life sentence if someone previously convicted of two violent offenses is convicted of a third.
Connecticut also has a Persistent Serious Felony Offender law on the books, which allows a prosecutor to seek a doubled sentence if the offender has already been convicted and incarcerated for one previous felony, violent or nonviolent. The prosecutor involved in Hayes' last case, which involved car break-ins, chose not to use that law, Lawlor said.
The town has assigned additional police officers to patrol the park today because of the crowd expected, according to the town manager’s office. “We weren’t prepared for how large it grew,” Bartoli said Monday. “We thought how great if we get 100 people to come.”
The police department has received so many calls about the event, Bartoli was told there is some concern that counter-demonstrators who support inmates’ rights may also attend.
The rally begins at 7 p.m. at Bartlem Park, across from Cheshire High School on South Main Street. Parking will be allowed within the park and in the high school lots.
One of the speakers at the event will be Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele, who will attend on behalf of Gov. M. Jodi Rell. Spokesman Chris Cooper said Fedele will read a statement from Rell, who is unable to attend.
“She’s open to reviewing the system,” Cooper said of Rell’s response to calls for a stronger “three-strikes” law.
“Nothing is off the table.” Rell has called for a top-to-bottom review of the judiciary system since two parolees with lengthy arrest records were charged in a July 23 triple homicide in Cheshire.
“Legislators respond to numbers,” said rally organizer Marilyn Bartoli. The group hopes to persuade legislators to call a special session to enact tougher mandatory sentences for repeat offenders, Bartoli wrote in a statement last week.
“Clearly, in regard to what's happened in our town, (current legislation) is not working," Bartoli has said.
Over the past two weeks, more than 38,000 people have signed an online petition urging state officials to strengthen Connecticut's “three strikes” law. They want offenders to serve a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison after three serious felony convictions.
But it is doubtful the stronger law would have stopped the two suspects in the Cheshire deaths, Steven Hayes, 44, of Winsted, and Joshua Komisarjevsky, 26, of Cheshire, said Rep. Michael Lawlor, co-chairman of the legislature's Judiciary Committee and a former state prosecutor.
Lawlor said some state lawmakers want a “three strikes” law similar to California’s. But Lawlor, who is in Canada attending a conference of state government officials, said a California criminology professor told legislators at the gathering this week that neither suspect in the Cheshire case would have been affected by the California law, considered among the most severe in the nation.
While Komisarjevsky was sentenced in 2003 to nine years in prison for second-degree burglary, stemming from a series of mostly nighttime break-ins, he had no previous convictions or “strikes.” And even though Hayes has been arrested at least 26 times, his record includes mostly car burglaries, drug charges and check forgeries. There were no convictions for residential burglaries on his record, Lawlor said Tuesday.
Therefore, Hayes’ crimes, Lawlor said, would not have triggered the automatic 25-years-to-life sentence in California because they were not violent or serious felonies.
"Under the California 'three strikes and you're out' law, neither one of these guys would have been eligible for it," said Lawlor, D-East Haven. "The people that are rallying, they believe these two guys had many previous convictions for breaking into houses, which was not true."
The California law requires that an offender's first two strikes stem from violent or serious felonies. But the third strike can be any type of felony, Lawlor said. The state is now grappling with a burgeoning prison population and the prospect of spending $6 billion on more prisons in the coming years.
At least 24 states have some version of a "three-strikes" law, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Late last month, state Senate Republicans called for mandatory 25-years-to-life sentences for the most serious repeat criminals. They called on the majority Democrats to make the issue a priority for the special legislative session later this summer.
"Connecticut's existing laws regarding penalties for serial felons and persistent offenders are permissive, not mandatory," said Sen. Leonard Fasano, R-North Haven, who is expected to attend the rally. "We need laws that do not allow for lenient treatment of career criminals whose actions are deemed to be dangerous, but not necessarily violent."
Republicans also want to impose stronger penalties for burglaries, especially those committed when a home is occupied. During a string of burglaries from 2000 and 2001, Komisarjevsky would wear latex gloves and night-vision goggles and brought along a knife to cut window screens so he could slip into homes while the occupants slept.
Connecticut passed its “three-strikes” law in 1994. Prosecutors can seek a full life sentence if someone previously convicted of two violent offenses is convicted of a third.
Connecticut also has a Persistent Serious Felony Offender law on the books, which allows a prosecutor to seek a doubled sentence if the offender has already been convicted and incarcerated for one previous felony, violent or nonviolent. The prosecutor involved in Hayes' last case, which involved car break-ins, chose not to use that law, Lawlor said.
The town has assigned additional police officers to patrol the park today because of the crowd expected, according to the town manager’s office. “We weren’t prepared for how large it grew,” Bartoli said Monday. “We thought how great if we get 100 people to come.”
The police department has received so many calls about the event, Bartoli was told there is some concern that counter-demonstrators who support inmates’ rights may also attend.
The rally begins at 7 p.m. at Bartlem Park, across from Cheshire High School on South Main Street. Parking will be allowed within the park and in the high school lots.