April 11, 2011 |
2011-R-0170 | |
DEATH ROW INMATES | ||
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By: Christopher Reinhart, Chief Attorney | ||
You asked for information on each death row inmate including the crimes they committed, their offense and sentencing dates, and the status of their appeals and habeas corpus petitions.
Death row currently houses 10 inmates. Robert Breton has been on death row the longest. He was first sentenced to death in 1989. Although the Connecticut Supreme Court overturned his sentence and ordered a new sentencing hearing, Breton remained on death row and was again sentenced to death in 1998. Steven Hayes is the most recent person sentenced to death (2010).
The cases for six of the 10 inmates have not completed the initial appellate review by the Connecticut Supreme Court. Four of the 10 inmates have finished their direct appeals to the Connecticut Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court denied their petition for review. All four of these inmates filed state habeas corpus petitions: in two cases the Superior Court denied the petition and the case is on appeal, one is currently at trial, and one is awaiting trial.
Table 1 provides, for each of the 10 inmates sentenced to death, a brief description of their crimes, offense and sentencing dates, and the status of direct appeals and habeas petitions. It is in order of the offense dates from earliest to latest.
In addition to the habeas petitions listed in the table, most death row inmates and some others are part of a habeas proceeding consolidating all racial disparity claims by inmates sentenced to death (In re: Racial Disparity et al. v. Commissioner of Correction).
Table 1: Information on Inmates Sentenced to Death as of March 30, 2011
Name |
Description of Offense |
Offense Date |
Sentencing Date |
Direct Appeal |
Habeas Corpus |
Robert Breton |
Convicted in the beating and stabbing deaths of his ex-wife, JoAnn Breton, and their 16-year-old son, Robert Breton, Jr. at his ex-wife's apartment. |
December 13, 1987 |
● October 27, 1989 ● January 9, 1998 |
● Connecticut Supreme Court overturns sentence: August 22, 1995 ● Connecticut Supreme Court upholds new sentence: June 24, 2003 ● U.S. Supreme Court denies petition to hear case: December 1, 2003 |
State habeas petition: trial pending |
Daniel Webb |
Convicted of kidnapping, attempted rape, and murder of Diane Gellenbeck. |
August 24, 1989 |
September 12, 1991 |
● Connecticut Supreme Court upheld sentence but remands for hearing on constitutionality of lethal injection: July 30, 1996 ● Connecticut Supreme Court affirms lethal injection: February 15, 2000 ● U.S. Supreme Court denies petition to hear case: October 2, 2000 |
State habeas petition: Superior Court's decision is on appeal to the Appellate Court |
Sedrick Cobb |
Convicted of rape and murder of Julia Ashe, whom he kidnapped from a Waterbury department store parking lot. |
December 16, 1989 |
September 24, 1991 |
● Connecticut Supreme Court ruling on racial disparity: August 8, 1995 ● Connecticut Supreme Court affirms sentence: December 7, 1999 ● U.S. Supreme Court denies petition to hear case: October 2, 2000 |
State habeas petition: Superior Court denies petition, appeal to Connecticut Supreme Court is pending the result of the racial disparity habeas litigation |
Name |
Description of Offense |
Offense Date |
Sentencing Date |
Direct Appeal |
Habeas Corpus |
Richard Reynolds |
Convicted of murdering Waterbury police officer Walter T. Williams. |
December 18, 1992 |
April 13, 1995 |
● Connecticut Supreme Court affirms sentence: June 3, 2003 ● U.S. Supreme Court denies petition to hear case: March 8, 2004 |
State habeas petition: trial under way |
Todd Rizzo |
Convicted of killing 13-year-old Stanley Edwards with a 3-pound sledgehammer. |
September 30, 1997 |
● August 13, 1999 ● June 23, 2005 |
● Connecticut Supreme Court ordered a new penalty hearing: November 14, 2003 ● Connecticut Supreme Court appeal on new death sentence pending |
|
Russell Peeler, Jr. |
Convicted of ordering the killing of an 8-year-old boy and his mother. The boy was expected to be a witness against Peeler in the shooting of the mother's boyfriend. |
January 7, 1999 |
December 10, 2007 |
Connecticut Supreme Court appeal pending |
|
Jessie Campbell III |
Convicted of killing his son's mother and her friend and attempting to kill another woman who witnessed the shootings. |
August 26, 2000 |
August 16, 2007 |
Connecticut Supreme Court appeal pending |
|
Eduardo Santiago |
Convicted of shooting Joseph Niwinski in a murder-for-hire scheme in exchange for a snowmobile. |
December 13, 2000 |
January 31, 2005 |
Connecticut Supreme Court appeal pending |
|
Lazale Ashby |
Convicted of raping and murdering his 21-year old neighbor in her apartment. |
December 2, 2002 |
March 28, 2008 |
Connecticut Supreme Court appeal pending |
|
Steven Hayes |
Convicted of Cheshire home invasion and the deaths of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley and Michaela. |
July 23, 2007 |
December 2, 2010 |
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