USA - Connecticut. A County jury sentenced Joshua Komisarjevsky, 31, white, to death

A New Heaven County jury unanimously sentenced Joshua Komisarjevsky, 31, to death for killing 3 members of a family in a July 23, 2007. home invasion. Mr. Komisarjevsky’s trial in Superior Court followed the trial of his co-defendant, Steven J. Hayes, who was sentenced to death last year (see November 8 and 26, 2010). The 2 men burst into the home of the Petits, beat and tied up the father, Dr. William A. Petit Jr., and wreaked havoc for hours before setting the house on fire with the family’s 2 girls tied to their beds. Mr. Hayes was convicted of raping and strangling Ms. Jennifer Hawke-Petit and killing the daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, who died of smoke inhalation. At his separate trial, Mr. Komisarjevsky was convicted of the killings and a host of other crimes, including sexually assaulting the 11-year-old and making prurient photographs of her on his cellphone. The only survivor, Dr. William Petit, was beaten with a baseball bat and tied up but managed to escape. Komisarjevsky will join 10 other men on Connecticut's death row. The state has executed only one man , Michael Ross, a volunteer, since 1960 (see May 13, 2005).