Connecticut Abolishes the Death Penalty

On April 25, 2012, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy signed Senate Bill 280 (2012), abolishing the state’s death penalty. The law changes “capital felonies” to “murder with special circumstances,” which is punishable by life in prison without the possibility of release. Any crime committed after the bill’s effective date is subject to the new rules, but it is not applied retroactively. Connecticut currently has 11 people on death row; more information on them is available at Connecticut’s Office of Legislative Research Report.

In 2011, Connecticut’s House of Representatives passed an abolition bill, but it failed to pass out of the Senate. A key issue in last year’s debate was the ongoing trials of the Cheshire case murderers, Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky. Even though Hayes already had been sentenced to death, Komisarjevsky’s trial was still pending, leaving many concerned that abolishment would make death sentences unavailable to punish these men.  To read more about state capital punishment considerations, including the Cheshire case, read NCSL’s article on The Cost of Punishment.

In 2009, a bill to abolish the death penalty passed the legislature, but was vetoed by former Governor Jodie Rell.

Resources: Fiscal Analysis of Senate Bill 280 (2012)

• The law will save Connecticut $850,000 in FY 2013. Total future annual savings for the Public Defenders and Division of Criminal Justice—after current death row inmates have exhausted appeals, settled cases or are executed—are estimated at $5 million.