Connecticut Lawyers' group says stop Ross execution

In a rare show of force, more than 40 defense lawyers on Thursday rallied at the Capitol complex, calling on lawmakers to repeal the death penalty. The attorneys, including some of the highest-priced, highest-profile legal talent in Connecticut, also asked Gov. M. Jodi Rell to halt the execution of Michael Ross on Jan. 26. A former Ross lawyer, Bridgeport attorney Michael A. Fitzpatrick, who handled part of the appeals process for the serial killer, predicted that the lethal injection will be postponed. Fitzpatrick, who represented Ross from 1992 until 2004, said "I have a good-faith basis to believe he is not competent" and that efforts to stop the execution should succeed. "I do not think the execution is going to happen," said Fitzpatrick, president of the Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. "I think this is going to gain momentum ... the pressure on Gov. Rell will mount and I honestly believe that she will come to the conclusion that for the Legislature to meaningfully debate this issue ... she will grant a reprieve to give them the time to do that." A spokesman for the governor, who remains at home in Brookfield this week recovering from a Dec. 27 mastectomy, said in response that Rell does not intend to change her mind and issue a stay that would indefinitely postpone the execution. During a morning news conference in the Legislative Office Building, defense lawyers from across the state, including attorneys who've handled some of the state's most-controversial murder cases, warned that Connecticut does not want to join the ranks of states like Texas, where capital punishment is routine. They said that geographic differences, racial bias and a client's ability to pay, have a lot to do with whether inmates end up on death row or receive lesser penalties. And on a financial basis, they claimed that putting an inmate to death costs three to five times more than keeping a prisoner behind bars for life without the chance of release. [more]