Floor debate from the late Rep. Tony Tercyak

THE CONNECTICUT GENERAL ASSEMBLY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 5, 1995

DEPUTY SPEAKER PUDLIN:
Thank you, sir. Representative Tercyak. You pushed your button. Do you want to speak, sir?

REP. TERCYAK: (26th)
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this amendment. There is so much violence out there from Bosnia to our streets, in our homes and even more recently, in our churches. We kill, kill, kill, kill. There is so much of it out there, as I say. We are killing the littlest ones of our creatures. We are killing the oldest and some in between.

Some of it is for no reason and much of it is because of psychological or dependency reasons. Some of others. We kill, kill, kill. Where does it stop? How does it stop? What I supposed some of my distinguished colleagues really believe we will stop here, how? By stricter enforcement of the State's death penalty? And by adding more candidates who qualify for the death penalty? We are saying let's kill the killers. But don't confuse us with the barbarians out there or the sick ones out there or even the accidental ones that kill out there because soon we are going to talk about killing humanely. Look, we have done that with cats and dogs last week.

When, oh when will we come to the realization that society as a whole kills and we in particular, even without the death penalty, kill because we are not working seriously enough to help society's problems and needs. How true it is that it takes a whole village to educate a child. Let's really commit ourselves to life rather than death. In doing so, we will not make any mistakes either.

Mr. Speaker, I cannot support any bill which in any manner, enhances a death penalty. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

DEPUTY SPEAKER PUDLIN:
Thank you, Representative Tercyak.