The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

The man whose family was murdered in the ordeal, Dr. William A. Petit Jr., welcomed the governor’s gesture and called it “a good start toward improving public safety,” but added that “some of these things may not have protected my family even if they were in place.”

At a news conference here with legislative leaders, Governor Rell presented her recommendations, which included a stiffer law for home invasions, the formation of a full-time parole board and notification of victims when a criminal is considered for release.

A sign of how crucial the views of Dr. Petit have become in the debate came when the governor said she had discussed her recommendations with him before the news conference. Lawmakers have also received late-night e-mail messages from Dr. Petit in recent weeks, pressing them to fix a system that has many people feeling vulnerable.

In a telephone interview Tuesday after the news conference, Dr. Petit said, “I realize that none of this will bring my family back, and some of these things may not have protected my family even if they were in place, but it’s just amazing how many cracks there are in the system when people looked.”

In the first newspaper interview he has granted since the July 23 attack in his home in suburban Cheshire, Dr. Petit said he particularly welcomed the governor’s support for classifying more home burglaries as a violent crime and for strengthening the Board of Pardons and Paroles, which he had previously described as a “total failure.”

Under the governor’s proposal, by July 1 the seven part-time members of the board would be replaced with five full-time people who would assemble a “complete file” on offenders before authorizing an inmate’s release.

The governor, a Republican, also called on the Democratic-controlled General Assembly to strengthen the laws on persistent offenders by imposing minimum penalties on career criminals and subjecting some three-time violent offenders to life in prison. Breaking with members of her own party, who wanted to see an automatic life sentence for certain career criminals, Mrs. Rell said her proposal would allow repeat offenders sentenced to life to appeal after 30 years. Top Democrats have been resisting proposals that might limit the flexibility of judges to use their discretion in sentencing.

Dr. Petit said he thought that a properly written “three-strikes-you’re-out” law made common sense.

“It’s almost beyond belief that you could commit a violent crime and be convicted by a jury of your peers and then get out, and commit a second violent crime and be convicted by a jury of your peers, and then commit a third violent crime and then be convicted by a jury of your peers and still get out,” he said softly. “If you haven’t figured it out yet, then you probably won’t, and you should not have the right to remain in civilized society.”

Top Democratic legislators found most of her proposals consistent with their own ideas. “Some of the stuff is common sense and crosses party lines,” said Dr. Petit, hopeful that the proposals can win bipartisan support.

Indicative of the air of cooperation that surrounded the news conference, the governor jokingly offered her reading glasses to the House speaker, James A. Amann, as he was about to speak. He, in turn, said, “Ninety-five percent of what the governor has here, on its face, I think we can support,” and promised to schedule a special session later this month to advance what he expected would be a bipartisan bill.

Still, Mrs. Rell deferred making recommendations on costlier issues — such as hiring new support workers for the parole board, increasing the use of tracking devices for offenders and possibly expanding an already overcrowded prison system — until the Assembly resumes in February for its regular session, when budgetary questions can be addressed. For now, she said, the system could handle any anticipated increase in the prison population.

Democratic lawmakers were not satisfied. They have been pressing her to acknowledge that the prisons are overtaxed, and want her to commit more resources to helping nonviolent offenders when they are released. On Tuesday, she said she could support increased financing for such programs, but stopped short of doing much beyond commissioning a study.

Another feature of her proposal would give the pardons and parole board access to information on juvenile offenders, which it cannot see now. “We have to have that kind of information to make appropriate decisions,” she said.