In what has to be one of the more horrific murder cases in recent memory, the Hartford Courant is reporting new details in the case:
Robert Farr, chairman of the Connecticut Board of Pardons and Parole, said Wednesday the board didn’t have all the facts on Komisarjevsky’s background when it chose to parole him in April. If it had, he said, the board’s decision might have been different. Hayes was paroled in May.
Here’s the old version of events:
At the time of the killings, Hayes and Komisarjevsky were both free on parole after serving prison time for burglary convictions in 2003, according to Bail Commissioner Garcia Harris. Before they were paroled this spring, they spent time in the same Hartford halfway house last year, said Brian Garnett, a Correction Department spokesman.
Neither man, however, has been convicted of violent crimes, and both were deemed appropriate candidates for supervised parole, Garnett said.
“Both were on a weekly reporting schedule with their parole officers and had been in full compliance with the requirements of their release, including being employed on a full-time basis,” Garnett said.
That’s nonsense. I’m sure the parole board would have access to the list of their prior crimes and here it is for your review, via the Journal Inquirer. In summary:
Prior to their arrests this week, Komisarjevsky had been convicted of 21 felonies and Hayes 17. Both also had been convicted of numerous misdemeanors and had been in and out of prison.
I’m no parole board expert, but I think this number of felonies just might be a warning sign. My advice to the DA, follow the public consensus:
But Dearington, who will prosecute the case, said he will do a thorough investigation to determine whether it is appropriate to charge the two suspects, Joshua Komisarjevsky, 26, and Steven Hayes, 44, with a capital felony.
“I know the public consensus is they should be fried tomorrow,” Dearington said Wednesday.