Letter: Camillo’s Vote Explained

lettertotheeditor

Dear Editor,

I am writing this because several people took the time to reach out to me regarding their support of, or opposition to, Justice Andrew McDonald’s nomination to become the next Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.

Although Andrew McDonald received an unfavorable report from the Judiciary Committee, he received passage from the House of Representatives, 75-74. His nomination now goes to the State Senate.

While I supported him on his nomination to the bench five years ago, consider him a friend, reached out to him to offer support a few weeks back, and told the several people who wrote to me that I intended to vote for him again, the hearing last week brought issues to light that I had not been exposed to previously.

I had to rethink my position, but still went to the Capitol yesterday with the intention of voting for him despite deepening concerns on many levels.

During the debate, I reached out to him and we chatted about one particular issue with which I was struggling. I appreciated his candid reply, but it also left me with a new understanding about the Death Penalty vote that made it impossible for me to vote to confirm Andrew as the next Chief Justice.

It also confirmed my belief that many people were not told the truth during the Death Penalty vote back when Andrew was in the legislature and was a leading advocate of repeal. It was a vote that I believe, to this day, was a mistake. I was willing to give the benefit of the doubt on a lot of issues, positions, allegations (some, I believe, were baseless), and on highly inappropriate lobbying by a major law firm on his behalf that does business before the state’s appellate courts (though he had nothing to do with that, in my honest opinion). Unfortunately, several legislators were led to believe that those currently on Death Row, such as the Cheshire murderers, would not be taken off, and that only new convictions would be spared this sentence. That promise was later broken following the narrow repeal of the death penalty. It’s a vote that I believe many now regret, and in good conscience, I could not overlook that on Monday.

Fred Camillo
State Representative, 151st District

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