Dr Petit Urges Parole Reforms,

Calls System ‘Total Failure’

By Susan Haigh Associated Press

HARTFORD — The lone survivor of this summer’s deadly home invasion in Cheshire called the state’s parole system and board “a total failure” on Tuesday, and urged state legislators to meet in special session and pass some key reforms.

“I disagree with those who feel that crime is under control in Connecticut and that our system works correctly,” Dr William Petit wrote in an e-mail sent to every member of the state legislature’s Judiciary Committee.

“It does not work properly and there are changes that can be made to improve public safety,” he added.

The e-mail marked the first time Petit has suggested specific reforms in light of the events that led to the deaths of his wife and two daughters in July. Two paroled burglars have been charged in the killings.

Last month, as lawmakers held a marathon hearing on 15 packages of proposed reforms, he sent an e-mail urging them not to get caught up in politics as they try to make changes to the state’s criminal justice system.

The Democrat-controlled General Assembly is hoping to meet in special session sometime in January to vote on changes to the criminal justice system. Meanwhile, Republican Governor M. Jodi Rell’s task force studying similar issues is set to make its recommendations by the end of the month.

Petit listed three possible changes that he said are relatively simple and would make Connecticut a safer place.

First, he said the state needs to ensure that the persistent felon law is applied legally and properly. In September, the state Supreme Court ordered a new sentence for a man convicted of shooting a New Haven police officer in 2002, saying part of the persistent violent offender law that led to his stiffer sentence was unconstitutional.

Under the law, a prosecutor can seek a doubled sentence if the offender has already been convicted and incarcerated for one previous felony, violent or nonviolent.

Second, Petit said a home invasion/burglary, like the July 23 assault at his home, should be reclassified as a violent crime. And third, he said lawmakers should focus on “revising our parole system and board, which has been a total failure.”