NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A Connecticut jury has completed a second day of deliberations without reaching a verdict on whether a man convicted of killing a woman and her two daughters in a brutal home invasion should get the death penalty or life in prison.
The jury deliberated about five hours Tuesday and less than two hours Monday in the sentencing phase of Joshua Komisarjevsky's (koh-mih-sar-JEV'-skee) trial in New Haven Superior Court. They continue their discussions Wednesday.
Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes were convicted of killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and daughters, Hayley and Michaela, at their Cheshire home in 2007. Hayes is on death row.
Defense attorneys say Komisarjevsky should not be condemned to death because was sexually abused as a child and never got proper psychological help. Prosecutors cite the heinous and cruel nature of the crime.