10-25-2010, 06:14 PM
WALL STREET JOURNAL:
10⁄25
“He told me ‘I’m going to hurt you,’” the officer stated in the report.
“I’m going to rip your heart out and shove it down your (expletive) throat,” Hayes said, according to the report.
NEW HAVEN, Conn.—The man convicted of killing a mother and her two daughters in a 2007 Connecticut home invasion allegedly threatened to kill a corrections officer earlier this year while awaiting trial, a revelation that could further damage his chances of avoiding the death penalty.
The threat was brought up Monday, the fourth day of the sentencing phase in the trial of Steven Hayes trial. Earlier this month, a jury found Mr. Hayes guilty on 16 of 17 charges—including six death-penalty eligible ones—finding that he was responsible for the brutal Cheshire murders. The same jurors will determine whether Mr. Hayes gets life in prison or receives a death sentence.
prosecutors—arguing strongly for the death penalty—hit back hard Monday, suggesting Mr. Hayes could be a risk to corrections officials if he's not put to death.
State's attorney Michael Dearington drew from a March disruption report, one of dozens against Mr. Hayes over the years, stemming from an incident in which a corrections officer said Mr. Hayes threatened to kill him.
"I'm [basically] on Death Row anyway. I have nothing to lose," the disruption report quoted him as saying.
Mr. Hayes admitted to making the threat, authorities said, and was penalized 20 days worth of recreation and visitation while awaiting trial.
Patrick Culligan, an attorney for Mr. Hayes, didn't attempt to refute the accusation, but pointed out corrections records that indicated his client wasn't considered a violent threat while in custody.
Mr. Culligan took issue with the prosecution's suggestion that Mr. Hayes would be afforded several liberties—such as television, phone calls, visitation time, ample time outside his cell and schooling—if he were given life in prison.
He used testimony from a recently retired Corrections Department official to make his point. "When I was working for the agency, he would not have been released into the general population" of prisoners, said Fred Levesque.
Closing arguments in the sentencing are tentatively slated for Friday, and the jury is expected to begin deliberating on the penalty early next week.
10⁄25
“He told me ‘I’m going to hurt you,’” the officer stated in the report.
“I’m going to rip your heart out and shove it down your (expletive) throat,” Hayes said, according to the report.
NEW HAVEN, Conn.—The man convicted of killing a mother and her two daughters in a 2007 Connecticut home invasion allegedly threatened to kill a corrections officer earlier this year while awaiting trial, a revelation that could further damage his chances of avoiding the death penalty.
The threat was brought up Monday, the fourth day of the sentencing phase in the trial of Steven Hayes trial. Earlier this month, a jury found Mr. Hayes guilty on 16 of 17 charges—including six death-penalty eligible ones—finding that he was responsible for the brutal Cheshire murders. The same jurors will determine whether Mr. Hayes gets life in prison or receives a death sentence.
prosecutors—arguing strongly for the death penalty—hit back hard Monday, suggesting Mr. Hayes could be a risk to corrections officials if he's not put to death.
State's attorney Michael Dearington drew from a March disruption report, one of dozens against Mr. Hayes over the years, stemming from an incident in which a corrections officer said Mr. Hayes threatened to kill him.
"I'm [basically] on Death Row anyway. I have nothing to lose," the disruption report quoted him as saying.
Mr. Hayes admitted to making the threat, authorities said, and was penalized 20 days worth of recreation and visitation while awaiting trial.
Patrick Culligan, an attorney for Mr. Hayes, didn't attempt to refute the accusation, but pointed out corrections records that indicated his client wasn't considered a violent threat while in custody.
Mr. Culligan took issue with the prosecution's suggestion that Mr. Hayes would be afforded several liberties—such as television, phone calls, visitation time, ample time outside his cell and schooling—if he were given life in prison.
He used testimony from a recently retired Corrections Department official to make his point. "When I was working for the agency, he would not have been released into the general population" of prisoners, said Fred Levesque.
Closing arguments in the sentencing are tentatively slated for Friday, and the jury is expected to begin deliberating on the penalty early next week.