Correction Officers Prepare for Executions

Correction officers in the state have started training on the procedure of carrying out an execution, according to a story in the Journal Inquirer.

The paper reports that Leo C. Arnone, Commissioner of the Department of Correction, asked officials what they would do if they had to execute an inmate. The officials said they were not sure, according to the JI.

The correction officers' training is part of an ongoing effort to stay abreast of state rules, Department of Correction spokesman Brian Garnett told the JI. 

The 11 inmates on Death Row are kept at the in Somers, with the actual execution chamber located next door in the .

Connecticut has executed just one person since 1960 – serial killer Michael Ross, in 2005. After 18 years of appeals, Ross decided to give up the appeals process and, despite attempts by public defenders and others to save him, was given lethal injection in May 2005.

Current Death Row inmates include convicted Cheshire murderers  and Steven Hayes. In the wake of the sentencing of these men, a debate has continued to rage on the .