Attorney for suspect in 3 Conn. home invasion killings opposes guilty plea, cites death wish

Conn. murder suspect’s lawyer opposes guilty plea

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — An attorney for a man who wants to plead guilty to charges in the home invasion killings of a Connecticut mother and her two daughters opposed the move Monday, saying his client is driven by a desire to die.

Steven Hayes told a judge last week he wants to plead guilty. His lawyer argued Monday that Hayes, who could face the death penalty, is seeking “suicide by state” and is not competent to make such a decision. They also said it was not a voluntary decision.

“Steven Hayes’ chronic suicidality, symptoms of depression, erratic sleep patterns, loss of periods of concentration, and conditions of confinement have obscured his ability to make adequately considered decisions,” his attorneys wrote in court papers. “Every decision he makes is focused upon accelerating the process to impose the sentence of death, what he has been described as calling ’suicide by state.’ “

Defense lawyers have been concerned about Hayes’ mental state since he tried to kill himself in prison on Jan. 30. But state experts who evaluated Hayes issued a report last week concluding he was competent to stand trial.

Hayes and another suspect, Joshua Komisarjevsky, 29, of Cheshire, have pleaded not guilty to capital felony murder, sexual assault and other crimes in the deaths of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, 11-year-old Michaela and 17-year-old Hayley.

They are accused of breaking into the Petit home in Cheshire in 2007, beating Dr. William Petit and holding the family hostage for hours before strangling his wife, Jennifer, and setting the house on fire. Michaela and Hayley, who had been tied to their beds, died of smoke inhalation.

A hearing will be held Tuesday in New Haven Superior Court on Hayes’ effort to change his plea. New Haven State’s Attorney Michael Dearington declined comment.

A change of plea would have to be accepted at a formal hearing. If Hayes is allowed to change his plea, a jury or a three-judge court would decide his sentence because he is not allowed to plead guilty to a death sentence.

Hayes’ attorneys, public defenders Tom Ullmann and Patrick Culligan, said if the judge allows Hayes to plead guilty, they will seriously consider withdrawing from the case.

“We do not think we can partake in such a stained and sordid process that greases the wheels of the machinery of death for such a diminished, tortured and suffering human being,” they wrote.

Hayes’ attorneys say that although he is competent to participate in his trial, he is not competent to rationally change his plea to guilty. They say the U.S. Supreme Court has acknowledged different levels of legal competence, and they are asking to call a psychiatrist, an expert in suicidality and possibly Hayes himself to testify at some point.

Dr. Suzanne Ducate, who heads psychiatric services for the state’s prison system, testified last month that Hayes told her he still felt hopeless after a failed suicide attempt in January.

“He said that he continued to feel very hopeless and his new strategy for dealing with his sense of hopelessness was to wait for the state to kill him,” Ducate said.

Hayes’ attorneys also cited the case of serial killer Michael Ross, who waived his appeals and in 2005 was the first person executed in New England in 45 years.

Connecticut Supreme Court rulings in Ross’ case, such as ordering a second penalty trial, show the court was uncomfortable with allowing a defendant to negotiate with the state in an effort to obtain a death sentence, Hayes’ attorneys contend.

Hayes’ attorneys attached letters they have written to prosecutors since 2007 offering a plea deal in which Hayes would receive a life sentence but be spared the death penalty, saying it would avoid the trauma of a trial, save millions of dollars and avoid up to 20 years of appeals. They say prosecutors have rejected those offers.

In his most recent letter, Ullmann wrote in February that Hayes has lost about 85 pounds and is “on the precipice of a total mental and emotional breakdown.”