Michael Lee-Murphy Photo
Gov. Dannel Malloy late Wednesday night announced that he will sign a newly passed bill to repeal the death penalty in Connecticut
He issued the statement at 11:01 p.m. after the state House of Representatives votes 86 – 62 to ban capital punishment. That followed a Senate vote for repeal last week.
“I’m pleased the House passed the bill, and when it gets to my desk I will sign it,” Malloy’s statement read.
“I want to be careful in the tone of my remarks, out of respect for the gravity of the issue at hand and out of respect for people on both sides of the issue. When I sign this bill, Connecticut will join 16 other states and almost every other industrialized nation in moving toward what I believe is better public policy.
“For decades, we have not had a workable death penalty. Only one person’s been executed in Connecticut in the last 52 years, and he volunteered for it.
“Going forward, we will have a system that allows us to put these people away for life, in living conditions none of us would want to experience. Let’s throw away the key and have them spend the rest of their natural lives in jail.”
Former New Haven state Rep. Bill Dyson (at right in photo) joined Gary Holder-Winfield (at left), the man who currently represents his old district — and who took up his capital punishment fight in the House—on the floor Wednesday night.
If we are to abolish the death penalty, I should like to see the first step taken by my friends the murderers.
ALPHONSE KARR, Les Guêpes, Jan. 31, 1849