CAPITAL PUNISHMENT FOR THE MURDERERS OF THE PETIT FAMILY
7/29/07
I have supported capital punishment for many cases and lenience for others. I have grappled with this issue for many years and have been on the opposing side of capital punishment, as well as in favor of it for certain cases. Several years ago I wrote an article,now in my archives, entitled Tookie vs. The Terminator regarding the Tookie Williams execution.
The recent murders in Cheshire Ct. struck very close to home. I live in Connecticut, I know the town of Cheshire very well. I was a partner in a Real Estate appraisal firm with our office in downtown Cheshire. My weekly television program is seen in that area. My long time friend and insurance broker has her office in Cheshire, Ct. . I owned a home in Southington, Ct. for 15 years, and had my real estate and finance company located in Southington, Ct.; which is the adjacent town to Cheshire,Ct.. What was not mentioned in the news reports about Cheshire Ct. is, that Cheshire has one of the oldest and largest Correctional Facilities in Connecticut. Many Cheshire residents are employees of the prison. I found it very interesting, that the prison has not been mentioned on any of the local or national news programs. I haven’t seen any reports on what prison the two paroled convicts were from, who murdered the Petit family.
Cheshire is an upscale middleclass community, in Central Ct.. Several national celebrities live or have lived in Cheshire. Cheshire has a large industrial park and is the home of several major international companies. It also has a large Pratt and Whitney facility, that employs several thousand employees. It is within short commuting distance from New Haven and Waterbury, two major Connecticut cities. The Petit family massacre is the worst crime ever committed in the Cheshire community and perhaps the state of Connecticut.
Many have read or heard of this horrific crime against the Petit family by now. I was as appalled by this news as anyone might be. I can only imagine the horrible grief suffered by Dr. Petit. I came close to tears, when I watched him say a few hard spoken words of love and loss at the service attended by over 2000 people , given by the Cheshire community to honor his murdered wife and two daughters. Dr. Petit had a gapping red scar from his forehead to his chin , caused by the blow to his head by the two murderers, who struck him with a baseball bat and left him for dead in his basement.
I can not begin to imagine what I would be feeling now if I were Dr. Petit. I know how I feel as a sympathic well wisher. I know how I feel as a human being, who has heard of this barbaric and insane act of inhuman cruelty. I know how I would feel as a juror in the trial of these murderers. It wouldn’t take me one minute to deliver a guilty verdict and death penalty to the murderers of the Petit family. Forgiveness or leniency in a case of this horrific magnitude would be a miscarriage of justice.
The United States is one of the only industrialized countries to still allow capital punishment. The state of Connecticut is one of a few states remaining that enforce the Death Penalty for heinous crimes. We are a nation of extremely aggressive people. We are a nation of laws and good will, however we are also a nation of serious intollerance,when it comes to madmen and murderers of the degree of the two men who murdered,raped and burned the bodies of the Petit family. The Petit sisters died of smoke inhalation. The 11 and 17 year old sisters were brutally raped and forced to witness their mother being raped and strangled, while believing their father had also been murdered and was lying dead in the basement. How could anyone with an honest sense of justice consider any other punishment for these two murderers of the Petit family other than death?
If the American people can condone the rendition treatment of guilty or innocent suspected terrorists sent to Uzbekistan to be flayed,then boiled in oil, why should we be anymore lenient towards the murderers of the Petit family? Hanging or lethal injection is too humane for their murderers. Let’s be real with each other,most Americans still believe in western justice; especially in cases like the murderers of the Petit family. I am well aware the crime was committed in New England, however no one should forget that New Englanders use to burn witches at the stake, and looked forward to an indian massacre or two. Today we Americans consider ourselves more sophisticated, more civilized and less primitive than our ancestors. We prefer to outsource all of our wars and dirty work to third world countries. Our federal government has banned public executions, but that doesn’t mean Americans wouldn’t have them if they still could. America didn’t get to be America by passive citizens or passive leaders. America was built on blood and guts and hard justice. Americans may have forgotten that, but we are soon reminded of it, when confronted with a case like the murder of the Petit family.
L.A. STEEL
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