The Cheshire Murders Page #11

that it would be your

will that would be done.

For we ask it in the

name of Christ. Amen.

Amen.

This is all about death

or life without parole.

Really, it does seem

like the most kind, humane thing

you could do for a person

is to allow them...

...to just die.

I thought of how much

that challenges the jurors.

A lot of pressure has

been placed upon their shoulders.

I'm glad I'm not in that room.

Yeah.

They'll never get those pictures

out of their heads for the

rest of their lives, you know?

Yes, I know.

It's been very

traumatic for everyone.

This is a case

that has just rattled people,

and a lot of people say

that if there is a case

that warrants the

death penalty, this is it.

Wait a minute.

I want to read you something

that we're, uh, we're

getting some word on,

and you might be able

to explain it to us.

The jurors are standing. The clerk

is reading the verdict form.

Count four,

no statutory mitigators.

Both aggravators are proven.

Uh, okay. The defendant is

sentenced to death, Sunny.

The jury returns.

Death penalty verdict.

Death for the

monster who slaughtered

the Connecticut doctor's family.

Tonight, a Connecticut jury

has done something very rare.

A Connecticut jury has recommended

death for Steven Hayes.

He's convicted of raping

and murdering a mom,

Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and her two

daughters, Hayley and Michaela...

The verdict was devastating.

Steven wanted a death verdict and

knew we did everything in our power

to prevent that from happening,

in spite of his own

efforts to kill himself.

This case

gets attention in Australia.

It got attention in Europe.

You know, this was Anytown,

America, any-family America,

and when you saw just how

that was shattered

in a few hours, I think

that's powerful...

Count five is death.

The second count, count five in the

murder of Michaela Petit, is death,

that he intentionally caused the death

of a person under 16 years old.

All right, count 10 is death.

That's, he intentionally caused the death

of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, the mother.

Okay, count 11 is death.

A couple of marshals

came up behind Joshua in cuffs

and really no reaction at all.

Given the public outrage

for these horrendous crimes,

that we just couldn't

get a fair jury here

and we still feel that way,

and that's why we had filed

a motion to change venue

and believe it

should have been...

Should have been granted, so that'll

be one of the main appellate issues.

I believe the death

penalty is just barbaric

and it puts us in line with countries

like China, Yemen, Iraq, Iran.

I don't know what other purpose it

serves other than simply revenge.

Walter Bansley III,

thank you very much.

Denise, of course, yeah, we're gonna

have continuing coverage here.

The death penalty has been

given to Joshua Komisarjevsky.

We are satisfied that

the defendant has been judged

to be the murderer, the rapist,

and criminal that he is.

And now he's been condemned

to the ultimate penalty.

We certainly have been

criticized over the years

that this is vengeance and blood lust,

but this is really about justice.

We want to go forward with

the Petit Family Foundation

and try to continue to create

good out of evil and...

The defense did what they

thought they should do.

I thought a lot of it was

particularly distasteful.

We saw picture after

picture after picture,

and every time one of those

pictures went up, I thought,

"Charles Manson

was a baby once."

"I'm not sure that this

is particularly relevant."

I'd just like to thank our justice

system as well as the jury members,

listening to a lot of things that they

would much rather not heard or seen.

I believe that without

our defense attorneys,

we could not have the

outcome that we have,

so we have to even

be appreciative

that there are defense attorneys

that will take cases like this.

And I believe God's

will has been done.

I don't really want

to answer any questions.

I feel so sad

that my answers would be...

I don't know if any of

the other defense attorneys...

...on death row now.

There will be automatic appeals.

There will be

appeals upon appeals.

This will go on for years

and years and years, and...

We offered to plead guilty to

every charge in the information against us

so long as death

wasn't the result.

And so Joshua would've been sentenced to

life without the possibility of release.

It would've happened, you know, three

weeks after the crime had taken place.

Josh would've disappeared

into the, into the great abyss

of the penal system, and would

never be heard from again.

But that wasn't a serious enough

punishment for the state,

and of course, the state was

being goaded on by Dr. Petit.

And so we had to go through three

years of Hayes and Joshua,

and just forcing the

people of Connecticut

to relive that crime,

day, after day, after day,

I think kind of coarsened the

social fabric of Connecticut.

It would've been so much better

just to throw those guys in jail

and throw away the key, but...

The most difficult

thing that I had to do in my life

was to bury my own child

and two grandchildren.

I don't think there

will ever be closure

for our family.

Jennifer was too much of

a giving, loving person,

and I don't think that

we will ever, ever,

if we live another 100 years,

would ever want to forget her.

So if closure brings forgetting,

I don't want that closure.

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