March 10, 2010
Psychiatrist: Hayes Says He's Waiting To Die
NEW HAVEN — Steven Hayes, charged in the Cheshire home-invasion murders, says he is without hope and awaiting death, a prison psychiatrist testified Wednesday.
But the psychiatrist, Dr. Suzanne Ducate, said in Superior Court that Hayes is able to participate in his own defense in his trial, and Judge Jon C. Blue ordered jury selection to resume Monday.
Jury selection was suspended after Hayes attempted suicide Jan. 30. Four jurors have already been chosen.
Ducate, called to testify on Hayes' confinement at a prison infirmary, said Hayes was still a high risk for suicide.
"Do you have any concerns about his ability to participate in the process?" prosecutor Gary Nicholson asked Ducate.
"No, I do not," Ducate said.
Hayes and co-defendant Joshua Komisarjevsky face the death penalty if convicted of killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, during a break-in, robbery and arson at the Petits' Cheshire home on July 23, 2007.
Hayes' life in the infirmary at the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield became an issue after attorneys complained that he was being treated inhumanely since the suicide attempt.
They said that 24-hour lighting prevented him from sleeping, and that precautions the prison was taking have kept Hayes from eating properly, maintaining his hygiene and getting the medication he needs.
Jury selection, Hayes' defense said, could not continue as long as Hayes was jailed under those conditions.
Ducate, who testified on Hayes' condition at a similar hearing March 2, said Wednesday that Hayes has improved his communication since then and is cooperating more when asked questions. Last week she said Hayes was not communicating well with officials.
Under cross-examination by defense attorneys, Ducate said she recommends that Hayes stay in a safe cell in an infirmary.
http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-hayes-hearing0311mar11,0,2612464.story
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