Connecticut Supreme Court rules death penalty unconstitutional

The Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that it would be unconstitutional to execute remaining prisoners on death row in the State, effectively outlawing the death penalty in Connecticut.

The State passed a law in April 2012 to repeal the death penalty only for future crimes, while leaving death sentences intact for inmates already on death row. The legislation also kept the option for crimes committed before the bill was signed into law.

The ruling was an appeal of a 2005 decision that would have seen Eduardo Santiago face lethal injection for a murder-for-hire killing in 2000. Santiago’s attorney argued that it would be “cruel and unusual punishment” to execute some while others faced life in prison for a similar crime.

The Connecticut Supreme Court, in a 4-3 ruling, agreed with his position. This ruling thus spares the lives of 11 men who were already on death row when the law took effect, saying it would be unconstitutional to execute them. The judgement described the death penalty as no longer comporting with standards of decency and as no longer serving any legitimate penological purpose.

Click here for a Washington Post article on the case.

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