---
title: 'NEW VOICES: Families of Victims Call for End to Death Penalty in Connecticut'
description: 'On February 9, more than two dozen families of murder victims came to the Connecticut Capitol complex to urge lawmakers to repeal the death penalty…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/new-voices-families-of-victims-call-for-end-to-death-penalty-in-connecticut'
section: news
date: '2011-02-14T18:47:03-05:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T14:29:28-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

! On February 9, more than two dozen families of murder victims came to the **Connecticut** Capitol complex to urge lawmakers to repeal the death penalty because of its negative impact on families of murder victims. Seventy-six family members of murder victims signed a letter urging lawmakers to end the death penalty. Gail Canzano, whose brother-in-law was murdered in 1999, said, "The death penalty ensnares people in the criminal justice system where mandatory appeals, constitutional challenges and never-ending media attention result in notoriety for the murderer and years of suffering and uncertainty for the families left behind." Others cited the death penalty's financial and emotional costs as a significant reason for repeal. The letter to Connecticut lawmakers read, "The death penalty is a false promise that goes unfulfilled. And as the state hangs on to this broken system, it wastes millions of dollars that could go toward much-needed victims' services." The state legislature is considering a repeal bill, and a judiciary committee hearing will be held in mid-March.

In 2009, the General Assembly passed a repeal bill, but it was vetoed by then-Govenor M. Jodi Rell. The current governor, Dannel P. Malloy, has said that he would sign such a bill.

(D. Altimari, "[Victims' Family Members Want Capital Punishment Repealed](https://www.courant.com/hc-xpm-2011-02-09-hc-death-penalty-repeal-0210-20110209-story.html)," The Hartford Courant, February 9, 2011). See [**Victims**](/victims-and-death-penalty?did=573&scid=62) and [**Recent Legislative Activity**](/recent-legislative-activity?did=236&scid=40).