Parole Procedures to Be Reviewed After Grisly Conn. Home Invasion

[brentspeak]

Source: ABC News

By ANNE-MARIE DORNING
ABC News
July 25, 2007

Connecticut officials have promised to review parole procedures that put two accused killers on the street, after a horrific home invasion and arson left three family members dead, a father badly beaten and the small town of Cheshire reeling.

The state medical examiner confirmed Tuesday evening that Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, was strangled to death and that her two daughters Hayley, 17, and 11-year-old Michaela died of smoke inhalation. Cheshire Police Lt. Jay Markella told ABC's "Good Morning America" that additional charges would come. "I'll fully expect murder charges to be added," he said.

(snip)

So far, the two suspects, 44-year-old Steven Hayes of Winsted, Conn., and 26-year-old Joshua Komisarjevsky of Cheshire, Conn., have been charged with various counts of aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping, burglary and arson. They are being held on a $15 million dollar bond.

Both men were on parole at the time of the killings and they both have extensive criminal records, mostly for burglary. But Robert Farr, chairman of the Connecticut Board of Pardons and Parole, said neither man had a record of violent crime. He promised a review of parole procedures.

The Petit family:



The suspects:




Read more: http://www.abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3411943&page=1

---

Fortunately, Connecticut still has the death penalty.

[babylonsister]

1. I heard about this; horrific. Makes me think the death penalty should

be used for certain individuals.

[High Plains]

2. Should we just do away with parole?

That is already the case in the federal system and in many state systems. The upside is that crimes like this would not be committed (at least not by parolees). The downside is massive prison overcrowding, the wasting of human lives that are redeemable (parolee killers are an infinitesimal fraction of parolees), and the eventual dumping back on the streets of now hardened ex-cons with no social control whatsoever.

As for cheering the existence of the death penalty in Connecticut, what can I say? Barbarism is alive and well in this fine land. And it ain't only parolee killers, either.

[mbperrin]

7. Actually, recidivism is a great deal higher than infinitesimal

Here's some numbers from the Bureau of Justice:

Recidivism

* Of the 272,111 persons released from prisons in 15 States in 1994, an estimated 67.5% were rearrested for a felony or serious misdemeanor within 3 years, 46.9% were reconvicted, and 25.4% resentenced to prison for a new crime.
* The 272,111 offenders discharged in 1994 accounted for nearly 4,877,000 arrest charges over their recorded careers.

http://www.ojp.gov/bjs/crimoff.htm#recidivism

That is 2 out of 3.

[High Plains]

20. The question was how many parolees go on to murder people?

I would imagine it is a small, but highly publicized, number.

As for recidivism, I wonder how many are drug offenders? You know, get busted for heroin or crack possession, get sent to prison without treatment, get released, get high, get caught again...

Drug users should not be imprisoned in the first place.

[MadMaddie]

9. Well we could reduce the overcrowding by doing a couple o f

things..

Reevalute cases for 3 strikes you are out....if someone is in jail for the rest of their life for having a joint....release them...

by looking at these cases alone....you could reduce the population in prison...

And keep the real criminals in prison.

[Doctor_J]

13. Amen to that

Kick the non-violent drug users. Double the available prison space. Problem solved

[Name removed]

3. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Spacemom]

4. I'm just sick to my stomach

I have tears running down my face. I can't imagine the horror these poor people went through. The youngest daughter was 11 years old. My son is 11. I can't imagine such innocence going through something so horrific. I'm just sick with this.

[Alexander]

5. It is UNFORTUNATE that my home of Connecticut still has the death penalty.

Let the murderers rot in jail for 50 years before they die.

Don't give them the easy way out.

[JerseygirlCT]

19. I'm with you.nt

[LisaL]

22. With so many appeals in place, they would rot in prison for a long

time before it ever gets to the time of execution, if they are convicted and get the death penalty. I don't call that an easy way out.

[Alexander]

32. The death penalty is barbaric...

and there is always the very real risk of putting an innocent human being to death.

[Forkboy]

6. Killing is wrong.I like killing.

Fortunately, Connecticut still has the death penalty.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

18. Yeah, he must get really depressed when such things happen in Iowa or Minnesota or West Virginia. -n

[depakid]

8. Yep- pick a grisly event- then demogogue for capital punishment

A wonderfully American past time- and one that fortunately the rest of the civilized world both recognizes AND rejects.

[Festivito]

10. ONLY parole? What? Nothing happens in between? Like PRISON.

Who, these days leaves PRISON after a full term anyway, such that anytime someone repeats criminality chances are they were paroled.

If we don't take a look at prison life, then perhaps we should make all sentences life without parole or the death penalty.

[tchunter]

11. I'm from cheshire

this happened in my home town, some twisted shit

[AndyTiedye]

12. Something Being Overlooked Here

These were not violent offenders before they went to prison.
They were when they came out of prison.

Seems like something the opposite of rehabilitation is going on.

Maybe we shouldn't put non-violent offenders in prison with violent offenders.

Surely we have enough prisons to keep them separate.

Maybe we ought to be paying more attention to what goes on in the prisons too.

[DrDan]

14. maybe I missed something here, but . . .

I think what you mean is that they were not convicted of a violent crime before being imprisoned.

Do you really know that they are non-violent and underwent a change only after entering prison? Or only that they were not convicted of a violent crime.

[AndyTiedye]

16. Just Going by What We DO Know

It still seems like a good idea to keep violent and non-violent criminals as separate as possible in prison.

Having non-violent criminals constantly subject to violence in prison is unconscionable in any case,
and it certainly does not contribute to their rehabilitation.

We know the conditions in many prisons are deplorable as well.

Society would be better served by dealing with these issues, than by
adopting a lock-em-up-and-throw-away-the-key attitude towards ALL criminals.

[ProudDad]

17. FACTS

Prisons are crime academies.

Prisons are run by the most violent and predatory inmates.

People who go into these nasty places are MORE likely to come out as more knowledgeable and violent criminals than when they went in.

There is NOTHING that can remotely be called rehabilitation being done in most prisons.

You do the math.


AndyTiedye is 100% correct.



My first thought was that they locked up non-violent offenders and turned them into potentially violent offenders. I've seen the process from the inside and believe me, THAT'S HOW IT WORKS in most cases!!!! People don't get "better" in these torture chambers, they GET WORSE!

I wondered how much actual rehabilitative effort was made with either of these folks.

The prisons (and the criminal-injustice system that feed them) are FUCKED UP. They don't work.

How long are we going to allow this failed experiment in institutionalized revenge continue?

Oh, I know. As long as the media can cherry-pick the rare, horrendous act; the worst by-product of the failed criminal-injustice system; frighten people with the boogie man of a predator on every corner and argue for more of the same useless (but politically useful) crap...

Here is the solution, if we followed the plan in this book we would hardly EVER hear of something like this:

http://list.afsc.org/pipermail/new-resources/2006-June/000011.html

Please don't listen to the blood thirsty bullshit from the MSM and most politicians...

[GoddessOfGuinness]

23. Prisons are for punishment.

This is the primary flaw with the system. Any talk of rehab is secondary to making offenders pay...as if time served actually restores what victims have lost. Before we can change the prison system, we have to help people understand that rehab must be the primary objective of imprisonment.

[ProudDad]

29. That is the point all right

That great book, "Beyond Prisons", contains the definitive history of how we got to this sorry state and some steps to get ourselves out of it...

[GoddessOfGuinness]

33. I'll check it out...

Thanks for the recommendation! :hi:

[SOS]

15. Another overlooked factor:

Alcohol.

The NYT reported yesterday that Hayes was seen by his neighbors hauling cases of beer from his car into his house.
The criminals met in an alcohol rehab.
They started their crime at 3 AM.
Odds are they were blind drunk.

Dr. Nancy Snyderman of ABC News reports that 86% of incarcerated murderers were drunk at the time of the killing.

But TV likes liquor advertising and therefore ignores this aspect of crime in America.

[LisaL]

21. They were considered non violent offenders.

But why is burglary considered non-violent crime?
If burglars go into the homes at night when family members are there-what would happen if those family members wake up and confront the burglars? Maybe burglary should be considered a violent crime, because certainly it seems like there is a serious potential for violence.

[qanda]

25. BRAVO!!!!!!

That's exactly what I was thinking. Also, just because they weren't convicted of a "violent" crime doesn't mean they weren't ever violent.

[ProudDad]

26. The last thing a burglar wants

is a confrontation with a home-owner.

They want to get in and get out with the loot with no hassles.


It's a very important point SOS made though...with a drunken burglar, all bets are off.


At one level all crimes are "violent" crimes, they are violations of the victim's right to peace and serenity.

However, the real cure is not a knee-jerk desire for vengeance.

Vengeance obviously worked real well with these two :sarcasm:

Time to actually try rehabilitation. Rehabilitation would also absolutely require a different incarceration scheme though.

Insulting, degrading, torturing and subjecting inmates to the tender mercies of the most violent, most predatory cons in one of those bleak institutions called prisons is not a good environment for a successful rehabilitation.

[LisaL]

31. I personally prefer the idea of locking the criminals that

keep on committing crimes up and throwing away the keys.
And what are you talking about vengeance working well with those two?
What vengeance? Seems like they kept on being released no matter what they were doing. What about three strikes law? As for rehabilitation, while sounding nice in theory, I certainly don't think it is going to work for everyone. Take these two-supposedly they had jobs, so why did they have to go do what they allegedly did? As for burglar not wanting to confront the home owner-guess what? If the burglar, drunk or not, goes into the home where the people are sleeping, it's certainly plausible those people might hear a noise and wake up-and then what?

[ProudDad]

34. You're already getting your wish

"I personally prefer the idea of locking the criminals that keep on committing crimes up and throwing away the keys."

And it's NOT WORKING!!!!

A good working definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result...

"Seems like they kept on being released no matter what they were doing."

I guess you'd vote for Life Without Parole or Death for EVERY crime, eh?

"What about three strikes law?"

How do you know one of these guys would have been struck out? It's likely the young guy didn't have enough strikes to get 25 to Life -- and anyway, he'd be out in 25-30 years -- and much the worse for wear...

"As for rehabilitation, while sounding nice in theory, I certainly don't think it is going to work for everyone."

You're right. About one in 10,000 is a sociopath and probably cannot be "cured". For these rare individuals secure, humane incarceration is the only answer. They are also relatively easy to diagnose.

Everyone else is amenable to the right kind of therapy and rehabilitation. They are not getting it. They are left to react to the abuse and torture of the current system with a hardening of the heart and a warped mind.


So, unless you want a one strike world where EVERYONE who commits a crime goes in for Life Without or even better, DEATH and the other 10% of us have to watch them (or kill them), you'd better start thinking about another, more successful way of dealing with those individuals who stray...

[LisaL]

37. It's alleged this guy with hid buddy killed three people.

And details are horrible. How exactly would he have been worse for the wear in 25 years?

[JerseygirlCT]

24. They met at rehab.

And yes, they didn't have any violent convictions before this. I don't know how far that goes though -- were the tendencies there already and just not acted on?

But yes, I don't doubt that our preference for prison instead of serious help for those with addictions is adding to the problem.

This happened very near my home. It leaves you feeling pretty jumpy, I have to say.

[ProudDad]

27. These guys couldn't find their asses with both hands!!!

""Three people died," (Robert Farr, chairman of the Connecticut Board of Pardons and Parole) told The Associated Press. "We're not going to say, 'Those things happen.' We've got to see if there is anything we can do that would reduce the likelihood of this happening in the future."

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Police expressed frustration with the parole system in Connecticut. "That is troubling," (Cheshire Police Lt. Jay) Markella told "GMA."

"I understand the court system and prison system is overburdened. … As a police officer, it's frustrating," he said"


Don't expect any substantive change from these jerks with a vested interest in preserving and defending the current broken criminal-injustice system and the prison-industrial complex...

[ProudDad]

28. If you want real insights into what probably happened

try here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Cold_Blood_(book)

and here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_and_Loeb


This looks like a classic case of two dysfunctional individuals committing acts together that they could never have done alone...


One wonders if the result would have been different if these folks had been rehabilitated after being convicted instead of tortured...

[LisaL]

30. Rehabilitation idea sounds nice, but how do you propose

it could be done? One of the suspects apparently comes from a well off family, but he had started his criminal career since a young age.
How do you propose to rehabilitate someone like that?

[ProudDad]

35. You start at a young age

The juvenile facilities are where the weaker inmates get abused and the stronger ones do the abuse.

It all begins there!!! Those are the Elementary and Junior High Schools of Crime...

When they leave Juvie, they're already damaged goods.

Then, if they follow what they've learned, they may graduate to the next level -- Jails, the High Schools of Crime to learn more tricks...

Then, if they follow what they've learned, they may graduate to a prison stretch -- the Crime Colleges.

You start at the beginning by being kinder to the children...

[LisaL]

36. Well, if those two did what alleged they certainly haven't been

kind to the children. The younger girl was 11, for crying out loud.
I fail to see how someone like these two can be rehabilitated.
And I certainly think if convicted, they deserve the death penalty.

[ProudDad]

38. OK, one more time

I don't know whether either of these two can be "rehabilitated" after pulling off what they did. Only a professional could determine this...

My point is that they SYSTEM as it IS created these two. The Juvenile facilities, jails and prisons MADE THEM.

If during their first incarceration(s) decent treatment and real rehabilitation had been the order of the day instead of warehousing them with a bunch of predatory inmates in a sensory deprivation chamber they probably would NOT HAVE ENDED UP LIKE THIS...

Insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result...


You might want to check the links I supplied in post #28 about the psychology of certain pairs of individuals -- the whole being able to do what neither would do alone. That may give you some insight into this rare, rare occurrence.