Wednesday, January 23, 2008

3 strikes legislation

From the Courant's Capitol Watch:

After one of the longest debates in recent years, the state Senate voted 36 to 0 Tuesday night for a comprehensive package of criminal justice reforms that were prompted by the triple slayings last summer in Cheshire.

As part of a 3 1/2 hour debate, Senators also rejected a Republican-sponsored "three strikes'' amendment that was designed to mandate an automatic sentence of life in prison for any criminal convicted of three violent felonies. The Republican amendment was favored by Gov. M. Jodi Rell and captured the support of three moderate Democrats - Senators Thomas Gaffey of Meriden, Joan Hartley of Waterbury and Paul Doyle of Wethersfield. In the House of Representatives, a "three strikes'' amendment was rejected, 91 to 48, shortly after 11 p.m. as eight Democrats broke with their party to vote with the Republicans...

The average sentence of eight years "is all the evidence you need that the judges don't get it,'' said McKinney, who graduated from the University of Connecticut Law School.

But Democrats ripped the amendment that was backed chiefly by Republican senators John Kissel of Enfield and Sam Caligiuri of Waterbury.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Know we know the real positions of many Dem's. The public should remove all of those that opposed the bill in the next election cycle.

Anonymous said...

How did Cheshire's three state reps. vote on the Three Strikes amendment?

Anonymous said...

Tom Gaffey is very persuasive with his party when it comes to getting his girlfriend's employer a billion dollars of state money, but did squat to get his party to support three strikes

Anonymous said...

What does it take to make these legislators realize that we, the people they represent and vote in, do not feel safe with the current laws of this state.
To bring up the notion that if this law was passed we may have to close state universities is an utterly ridiculous statement. The liberal judges will never get it and will continue to put these low lifes back on the street. We need to take control of the judiciary system and take it out of their hands.
Go get them Tim!

redtown said...

Nardello: criminal enabler

This is how Cheshire’s state reps voted yesterday. See http://www.cga.ct.gov/2007/jnl/H/2008HJL00122-R00SS4-JNL.htm

To Abolish the Death Penalty:
Adinolfi - No
Fritz - No
Nardello - Yes

On Three-Strikes Mandatory sentences:
Adinolfi - Yes
Fritz - No
Nardello - No

So Rep. Vickie Nardello voted to spare vicious thugs like Hayes and Komisarjevsky from the death penalty, and then she went on to vote against mandating they be locked up for life as career criminals. The death penalty repeal also would have commuted the sentences of those already on death row.

Anonymous said...

So let’s get this straight. Nardello not only wants to protect those two butchers from capital justice, but she wants to allow such criminals (with 20-plus felonies each) to be eligible for parole. Is this woman insane?

Anonymous said...

Nardello is not insane, just liberal. In the minds of liberals, criminals are never fully responsible for their crimes. There’s always underlying “social causes”. They imagine themselves to be more “enlightened” than the “hysterical” public which demands a death penalty and mandatory life in response to what happened in July.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Here’s another example of why we need a 3-Strikes law to keep repeat violent criminals locked up.

James Biggs had been in and out of Conn. prisons his whole life for multiple kidnappings, robberies, sexual assaults and other crimes.

He was released yet again on Aug. 30, 2007, and promptly committed armed carjacking and assault on a police officer, causing Gov. Rell to suspend all paroles of violent criminals.

These lifelong criminals are not going to change, and the public needs to be protected from them. But I guess I'm just hysterical.

Anonymous said...

The anti-death penalty crowd has shown its true colors. They argue that life in prison without parole is harsher than the death penalty. But when offered a proposal for mandatory life without parole, they reject it. Criminal enablers indeed.

Anonymous said...

Convicted Murderer Charged in Home Invasion
By Teresa Errico

Norwalk- A convicted murderer recently released from prison was arrested Monday morning in connection with a July 28 (2007) home invasion in which an elderly woman was stabbed.

Jerry B. Mitchell, 48, of 36 Butler St. was charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree assault, assault on a victim over 60 years old, first-degree burglary and fourth-degree larceny.

Well, duh, do you suppose this convicted murderer should not have been released in the first place?

Anonymous said...

stop labeling these people as criminals....maybe vickie understands that their motives are much more complex than all you revenge seekers realize....josh had a troubled childhood....have some compassion.

Anonymous said...

Anon 3:16, thank you for sharing your *feelings* They’re such special *feelings* Of course these rapist-murderers had troubled childhoods, so we should be glad that Vickie and the liberal legislators share your compassionate, enlightened *feelings*

Meanwhile, back in the real world, home break-ins are up on this side of town and in Prospect, while the legislature has made it easier to unleash habitual criminals back onto the streets.

Anonymous said...

let's talk about how to prevent people from growing up with such hate. Is there anything that could have helped JK when he was young and getting in trouble in Cheshire?

Anonymous said...

Bottom line: people with a lot worse childhoods don't go around raping, kidnapping, and committing mass-murder. JK and SH understood the difference between right and wrong and they are fully responsible for what they did.

This discussion is about public policy, not what they were feeling. And the legislature has voted to potentially allow career criminals like them to be unleashed on the streets again. Shame.

Anonymous said...

It's wrong to break into someones home. How hard is that law to follow? Whatever their problems were this law wasn't asking them to do do something beyond their control.

Anonymous said...

In case latecomers missed it, I'm reposting Redtown's post from earlier.

Nardello: criminal enabler
This is how Cheshire’s state reps voted yesterday.
See http://www.cga.ct.gov/2007/jnl/H/2008HJL00122-R00SS4-JNL.htm

To Abolish the Death Penalty:
Adinolfi - No
Fritz - No
Nardello - Yes

On Three-Strikes Mandatory sentences:
Adinolfi - Yes
Fritz - No
Nardello - No

So Rep. Vickie Nardello voted to spare vicious thugs like Hayes and Komisarjevsky from the death penalty, and then she went on to vote against mandating they be locked up for life as career criminals. The death penalty repeal also would have commuted the sentences of those already on death row.

Anonymous said...

The Democratic party depends too much on support from criminal defense lawyers and political bosses in urban areas who have ex-cons on the payroll

Anonymous said...

Speaking of criminal enabling, Vickie Nardello also voted to give tuition breaks to illegal aliens while many legal residents can’t get into state colleges. My family worked hard, paid taxes, and played by the rules, but an illegal trespasser was given my seat. Excuse me for not being compassionate like Vickie and the beautiful people.

Anonymous said...

3:16, excuse me if I feel no compassion for Josh and his pal, but only for the victims of their heinous crime. Are there now so many muddle headed people like you around that the legislature actually votes your way?

Anonymous said...

One of the saddest things I heard yesterday came from the mouth of a state rep from Hartford. To paraphrase - he said this was all about the deaths of rich white people living in the suburbs that moved the legislature to pass this legislation while they ignore the poor victims of the inner cities.

This kind of rheteric underscores the lingering problems of race relations and class welfare that is being proliferated by the liberals that want to throw good money after bad on programs to help and educate the poor. Meanwhile these programs fail and only imbitter them further. This nit wit doesn't even understand that this legislation is applied to all...black, white, latino, male female, etc.

The murders in Cheshire were committed by white guys and the victims were white. The public is demanding safety for all citizens and appropriate sentencing for all criminals. The Hartford rep did his constinuancy and all state residents a great diservice and he should be ashamed of himself.

Anonymous said...

Last year Rep. Nardello held public office hours in Prospect, but not in Cheshire. Seems she only bothers with Cheshire when she's running for re-election. If she campaigns in Cheshire this year, I bet she'll get an earful on these votes against public safety.