West Hartford Police Chief James Strillacci, president of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association, has told state lawmakers that resources devoted to the death penalty would be better spent elsewhere. He noted, “It is a practical issue. We have a death penalty law on the books, but we haven’t executed anyone since 1960, and it doesn’t look like anyone will be executed. The process is long, labor intensive and expensive. Now, any money we’ve put into death penalty cases has really been wasted.” Strillacci said death penalty funds would be more wisely spent on other aspects of the criminal justice system, such as forensics, DNA evidence collection and cataloguing, and other aspects of the criminal investigation process. He said that this reallocation of funds would result in the conviction of more criminals and the exoneration of more innocent people. (New Haven Register, February 29, 2004). See New Voices and Costs.

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