In a case that received worldwide attention, the jury’s verdict on October 5 was hardly surprising. Steven Hayes was found guilty on 16 charges ranging from burglary, assault, kidnapping sexual assault and three counts of murder. Hayes and his co-defendant, Joshua Komisarjevsky, broke into the Cheshire, Connecticut home of Dr. William Petit on July 23, 2007. Dr. Petit was beaten with a baseball bat, tied up and dragged to the basement. Hayes and Komisarjevsky then went about their plan of burglarizing the house. The pair came across Dr. Petit’s wife and daughters, and as Stephen Hayes later told police, “Things got out of hand.“ Hayes admitted to raping and strangling Jenifer Hawke-Petit after forcing her to withdraw $15,000 from her bank account. He and Komisarjevsky, who faces trial early next year, then poured gasoline on 17-year old Haley Petit, and her 11-year old sister Michaela, both of whom were tied to their beds. And one of the defendants, or both, lit a match. The house, and those in it, went up in flames. Fortunately, Dr. Petit managed to escape out of the basement, and his compelling testimony helped thr jury convict Stephen Hayes.
While the verdict was expected to be “guilty,” the penalty for the crimes has yet to be decided. Throughout the state of Connecticut, and wherever the trial received attention, views on whether or not the death penalty should be applied are be expressed, often loudly. The general consensus among participants in media polls, or man-on-the-street interviews is that Steven Hayes must be executed by the State of Connecticut for the heinous crimes he committed.
Death penalty advocates maintain that if ever there was a case where the death penalty was warranted, this is it. Calls to execute him immediately, ignoring his legal right to appeal, make up most of the comments on blogs dedicated to the murders and trial. Some who comment believe that gasoline should be poured on Hayes and he should be lit on fire.
Religious beliefs of both pro- and anti- death penalty advocates color viewpoints. The Bible is quoted by both sides. One side professes the eye-for-an-eye resolution, while the other promotes the Bible’s teaching of “Thou shall not kill, “ period. Sister Helen Prejean, perhaps the most prominent of anti-death penalty advocates, believes every life is sacred and no one, not even the State, should be allowed to kill. This sentiment was echoed while Hayes’ trial was going on. Vicki Schieber, a staunch Catholic, spoke at various churches about her opposition to the death penalty. Her daughter Shannon, was murdered by a serial rapist, yet Schiebar opposes the death penalty on moral grounds. Dr. Petit, holds the opposite view. Prior to the trial he commented that the death penalty was “the appropriate societal response to the brutal and willful act of capital felony murder."
Those who want Hayes executed cite that killing him will save taxpayers money. Why, they ask, should he spend the rest of his life in prison, at the taxpayers’ expense? Ironically, it costs more tax dollars when a person is given the death penalty than when he or she is given a life sentence. The annual cost of housing an inmate for one year in a Connecticut state prison is approximately $34,000 a year. Hayes is 47-years old. If he is sentenced to life, without possibility of parole, and if he lives another 40 years, as unlikely as that might be, it will cost the tax payers $1.36 million, a steep figure, for sure. If Hayes is sentenced to death, he will still be housed until execution, but additional expenses will be incurred. Hayes will be entitled to an appeal. Not only will taxpayers be paying the legal costs of arguing that the death penalty should not be overturned, but also for two defense attorneys who will try to persuade the Court to find that the death penalty was wrongfully imposed. Legal costs will be astronomical as the appeal drags on for years. A death row inmate must also be housed in a special facility with more security, adding to the cost. The Death Penalty Information Center claims that, depending on the state, it costs 10- 38 times more to impose the death sentence than to impose life without possibility of parole.
Divergent views of what the ultimate penalty should be are contingent on each person’s view of justice. But what is Justice? To some it is revenge. To others, it is redemption. Some see the swift execution of Steven Hayes as the only way justice will be served. Some believe that killing him makes the State a murderer. The idea of life in prison is repugnant to some who think Hayes doesn’t deserve to be able to eat meals, watch television, read, and otherwise experience life when his victims do not have that option. Some think that life in prison is exactly what Hayes deserves, eating unpalatable prison food, having his every move monitored, being told when he can sleep, when he must awake, never feeling the warmth of human companionship again, rotting away in limbo, and always having to be on guard because other inmates would be happy to kill him.
On October 18, jurors will begin deliberating Hayes’ fate. The opponents and the advocates of the death penalty wait to see what group will be victorious. What ever side wins, Steven Hayes still loses. That may be a small consolation to the Hawke and Petit families.
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