Check out the recap on the Death Penalty debate by reading Her Plea Counted Less, in the New Haven Independent.
I don't believe that Racial bigotry played a part in the decision to table the bill to end the death penalty in Connecticut, but it is an absolute truth that the Petit case got more coverage than any other murder in the past few years. It is an absolute truth that children of color who disappear from our streets get nearly no media coverage, but white children get the front page and the lead television story. It is an absolute truth that racism is rampant.
I have no information on the other families who suffered with murder so close to home, so I have no way to judge the "Heinous" quality of each crime. But pain is pain.
I have been disgusted and embarrassed by the voyeuristic media attention to lurid details of the Petit murders. I know I know: The public wants to hear it. Not me. I did not read even one account beyond the very first day of the attacks.
I just know that the world doesn't give equal weight to these lives and this particular woman has not been shown proper respect by the legislators or the media.
It is a terrible thing to keep avoiding the Abolition vote. The time has come? Hah! Time is way overdue.
Reminder: Check out the New Haven Independent's associated sites, including the terrific report on School Cafeteria Health Inspections at Connecticut Health I-Team (C-HIT), as well as great local reporting at the Branford Eagle and the Valley Independent Sentinel, which covers Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour, and Shelton.
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