Komisarjevsky Defense Promises Trial Delay Motion Today

Jury selection continues today for the Joshua Komisarjevsky trial at New Haven Superior Court, following a tumultuous week involving the case.

Defense lawyers said they would file a motion for a three-month trial delay today in response to comments by state Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, that Komisarjevsky, the second Cheshire home invasion defendant, should be publicly hanged by his penis without a trial.

Defense attorney Jeremiah Donovan said he would ask for the trial delay because Prague’s "inflammatory" remark might influence jurors against Komisarjevsky.

Prague made the comment when she announced that Dr. William Petit, who survived the home invasion ordeal, had convinced her to vote against a bill to abolish Connecticut’s death penalty.

Komisarjevsky faces the death penalty for his part in the triple homicide of Petit’s wife and two daughters in 2007. His wife and one daughter were also sexually assaulted.

Although the bill would not apply to Komisarjevsky’s case, the decision by Prague and another state senator doomed chances for death penalty repeal this year.

Also this week, the Appellate Court may issue a decision on the defense’s request to keep witness lists for the trial sealed.

If the defense loses, the trial judge, Judge Jon C. Blue, has said he will release the witness lists to the news media, something the defense contends could jeopardize the safety of witnesses and Komisarjevsky’s right to a fair trial.

Twelve jurors have been selected for the trial, but attorneys must still pick six alternate jurors and three backup alternates. The trial is scheduled to start in September.