Conn. Home Invasion: Steven Hayes Says Execution Will Be a "Welcome Relief"
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (CBS/AP) Steven Hayes, the man sentenced to death for the murders of the wife and two daughters of Connecticut doctor William Petit during a home invasion, says his execution will be a "welcome relief."
Minutes before a Superior Court judge sentenced Hayes to die by lethal injection, he made his first public statement, in front of the only surviving member of the family he helped destroy, reports The Hartford Courant.
"I oftentimes looked at Dr. Petit and became sick to my stomach knowing what he has been through and what he continues to go through to this day," Hayes said. "There's not a moment that goes by that this does not weigh on my mind, especially since he suffered due to my actions. My suffering is meaningless compared to that of Dr. Petit. Death for me will be a welcome relief and I hope it will bring some peace and comfort to those who I have hurt so much."
Hayes, who did not testify during his trial, said he wanted money for drugs.
"I am deeply sorry for what I have done and the pain I have caused," Hayes told Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue. "My actions have hurt so many people, affected so many lives, and caused so much pain. I am tormented and have nightmares about what happened in that house."
After Hayes' statement, Judge Blue spoke before sentencing Hayes to be executed on May 27, 2011.
"This is a terrible sentence," the judge told Hayes, "but is, in truth, a sentence you wrote for yourself in flames. May God have mercy on your soul."
According to authorities, in 2007 Hayes and another man, Joshua Komisarjevsky, murdered Jennifer Hawke-Petit and set the family's home on fire while the Petits' two daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, were inside.
Komisarjevsky is scheduled to stand trial next year
Dr. William Petit was severely beaten with a baseball bat, but managed to survive the attack.
"I miss my entire family, my home, everything we had together. They were three special people," he said. "I lost my entire family. I lost the records of our shared lives together due to the fire. Thus I lost my past and my future."
New Haven Public Defender Thomas J. Ullmann says a mandatory appeal will be filed within two to three months and that the state Supreme Court could take up to four years to decide on the appeal.
COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE PETIT CASE ON CRIMESIDER