Prague's Remarks Prompts Request to Delay Trial

Calling state Sen. Edith Prague’s recent comments "reckless," "undignified," and "incomprehensible and patently crude," defense lawyers asked the court on Monday for a three-month delay in jury selection for the Joshua Komisarjevsky trial.

In an interview with an online news site last week, Prague, D-Columbia, said of Komisarjevsky: "The should bypass the trial and take that second animal and hang him by his penis from a tree out in the middle of Main Street."

Prague made the statement while explaining that after meeting with Dr. William Petit, she had decided to oppose a bill to abolish the death penalty in Connecticut.

The defense lawyers said Prague’s remark was not very different from many that anonymous individuals have attached to news stories about the trial on the websites of the Hartford Courant and the New Haven Register, except they point out that Prague is the Assistant President Pro Tempore of the Connecticut State Senate and chairman of three Senate committees.

They said her statement might be construed by prospective juror as calling for recruits for a lynch mob.

"If someone is determined to execute Mr. Komisarjevsky, it is an easy matter to answer the voir dire questions in a way that suggests fairness, impartiality, and a willingness to follow the court’s instructions. Our fear is that the senator’s call for lynching may induce venire persons who would formerly truthfully respond that they could not be fair and impartial to abandon veracity in order to advance Senator Prague’s view that (Mr. Komisarjevsky's) a monster and I don’t feel anything for him is bad enough," the lawyers wrote in a memorandum supporting their request.

They also referred to one of the prospective jurors who may have attempted just that last month. After appearing impartial during jury selection questioning, the woman was excused by the defense using a peremptory challenge. She then screamed insults and accusations at Komisarjevsky before judicial marshals escorted her from the courtroom.

"Because the senator’s call for the genital lynching of Mr. Komisarjevsky, following soon after her conversation with Dr. Petit, is so inflammatory and comes from such an authoritative source, we respectfully suggest that some period during which the senator’s remarks may be forgotten should be allowed," the memorandum concludes.

"We respectfully request that jury selection be continued for three months so that the Senator’s call for a lynching may slip from the mind of potential jurors."

(A pdf of the request is attached).

Komisarjevsky is charged with attacking, kidnapping and robbing  Petit’s family in 2007. Petit's wife and two daughters were murdered.

Jury selection for Komisarjevsky has now has picked 12 regular jurors and one alternate. Five more alternate jurors and three backup alternates are required or the trial which is scheduled to start in September if the delay isn't granted.