Hayes' Lawyers Cite “Mitigating” Factors in Home Invasion

Attorneys for Steven Hayes have argued that he should be spared the death penalty because he was in a "state of intense rage, despair and confusion" when he killed Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, and is deeply remorseful for what he did.

Hayes’ attorneys filed a list of so-called mitigating factors in New Haven Superior Court on Wednesday and cited Hayes' abusive childhood and history of drug addiction.

Hayes was convicted last month of murdering the Petit women during a horrific home invasion in Cheshire in 2007.

His lawyers said co-defendant Joshua Komisarjevsky was the mastermind.

The jury must weigh the mitigating factors against aggravating factors cited by prosecutors, including the heinous and cruel nature of the deaths.
 

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