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Ben Jealous Calls Rell's Veto "Cowardly Act", June 5th, 2009
They say they are defeated but not done in their fight to get rid of the Death Penalty in Connecticut. Today, Governor Jodi Rell Vetoed a bill which would have done just that saying The State cannot tolerate people who commit the most revolting crimes. The Governor vetoed the bill behind closed doors without any press present. Meanwhile, the national President of The NAACP who flew in from out-of-state to try and convince Rell to sign the bill slammed The Governor for not meeting with him. ”I frankly expected that Governor Rell would have made the basic respect of talking with me five minutes before she made her decision rather than five minutes after,” said NCAAP President Benjamin Todd Jealous who went on to call it “a cowardly act on a serious issue.” Jealous say Capital Punishment violates the civil rights of minorities who are more likely to end up on Death Row than whites charged with similar crimes. In Connecticut, ten men sit on death row. Out of them, six are black, one is Hispanic and three are white. However, there have only been two executions in Connecticut since 1960 and both were white men. In 2005 serial killer Michael Ross was executed by lethal injection. In 1960, Joseph “Mad-Dog” Taborsky was killed in the electric chair for a series of liquor store robberies and murders during the 1950’s. Dr. William Petit, the most notable supporter of the Death Penalty whose wife Jennifer and two daughters, Hayley and Michaela , were all murdered during a home invasion in Cheshire two summers ago, praised Rell for vetoing the bill. “Thankfully, Governor Rell has a sense of what is required to maintain the fabric of our society. Finally the victims have a reasonable voice and some consideration over the deluded thinkers who feel that rights should only be accorded to convicted felons,” Dr. Petit said in a statement. However, Majority Leaders say the will have a veto Session in July but House Speaker Chris Donovan says he doesn’t know if the votes are there to over- ride the Governor’s veto because it’s a bi-partisan issue. Donovan said “both Democrats and Republicans voted for it and against it. |
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