Connecticut is one of the smaller states in the union, and it has a relatively low crime rate, so it stands to reason that there would be relatively few murders that cry out for the death penalty, compared to most other states. There are some, though. In July 2007, the home of William Petit and his wife Jennifer was invaded. Jennifer and their two daughters were killed. William was the sole survivor. Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes are charged with the crime, and the State's Attorney is quite appropriately seeking the death penalty. Yesterday, Mr. Petit and his sister testified before the General Assembly's Judiciary Committee, which is considering abolishing the death penalty and letting the very worst murderers off with only life sentence. First, they made Mr. Petit wait eight hours, reports Amanda Falcone of the Record-Journal. Then,

Petit sat before the Judiciary Committee Wednesday not knowing what to expect. He still wore his wedding ring, and as he spoke about his late wife and children, he got emotional. Committee members peppered him with questions - some of them personal: More than one asked him why he couldn't just forgive and whether his support for the death penalty went against his wife's wishes.

Let us hope that the legislators in question have genuinely contested elections next time, and that the transcript is available for use by their opponents.