Connecticut Court Reaffirms Ruling Abolishing Death Penalty

HARTFORD — The Connecticut Supreme Court has reaffirmed its decision that Connecticut's abolition of the death penalty must also apply to those already convicted of a capital felony.

Monday's ruling comes in the case of Daniel Webb, who was sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of Diane Gellenbeck. The 37-year-old bank vice president was killed in a Hartford park after being abducted from a downtown parking garage.

The court last August found the 2012 state law that banned executions for future crimes did not go far enough, ruling the death penalty was unconstitutional for those already on death row.

The court on Monday said the same reasoning applies to Webb's appeal and ordered him to be resentenced. He now faces life in prison without parole.

Read more: http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-ap-death-penalty-connecticut-20160718-story.html