New Chief State’s Attorney for Hartford appointed: Impact on death penalty policy?
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The other big story this week is the appointment of a new Chief State’s Attorney for Hartford’s Part A court. Waterbury prosecutor Gail P. Hardy was appointed to the post, replacing current State’s Attorney James Thomas. Attorney Thomas is retiring after 30 years as a prosecutor, 11 of which were spent as Hartford’s top prosecutor. Hardy beat out several other applicants, including 7 who are currently working in the Hartford office. Attorney Thomas had some choice words about that.
Attorney Hardy worked for Waterbury State’s Attorney John Connelly and it will be interesting to see how Hartford handles capital felonies from here on out. As readers might know, a hearing on the constitutionality of application of the death penalty in Connecticut just concluded in which defense attorneys argued that the death penalty was applied arbitrarily (and mostly in Waterbury).
Whether her experience and tutelage under John Connelly in Waterbury will impact the Hartford office’s policy to pursue the death penalty in a greater number of cases remains to be seen.
