Attorneys For Petit Murderer Steven Hayes Turn to Prison Safety During Sentencing Trial

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Oct. 25, 2010— -- Attorneys working to spare the life of convicted murderer Steven Hayes turned the heat on the Connecticut prison system today, grilling former corrections officials on inmate safety.

Retired corrections commissioner Theresa Lantz, first on the stand this morning for the defense, invoked notorious murderer Jeffrey Dahmer and de-frocked Boston pedophile priest John Geoghan as high-profile inmates who were brutally murdered while serving their sentences.

"It's a horrific crime that was committed," Lantz said when asked if she had any concerns for Hayes' safety in the wake of the July 2007 home invasion that left Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, dead. "When you have offenders with that type of a history ... you're very concerned about their safety."

Today kicked off the second week of testimony in the sentencing phase of Hayes' trial. The prosecution, which is pushing for the death penalty, rested its case the first morning after calling a clerk to read a list of Hayes' criminal convictions.

Closing arguments are expected to be held on Friday.

The defense team has held court the rest of the time, calling an array of witnesses that collectively have painted Hayes, 47, as a drug addicted burglar who played follower to co-defendant Joshua Komisarjevsky's alleged ring leader.

Last week, Yale University Professor Dr. Paul Amble, who conducted a four-hour evaluation of Hayes earlier this year, testified that the defendant has made multiple attempts to commit suicide while incarcerated, as recently as August of this year.

Amble told the court that Hayes tried to kill himself "several times" prior to the Petit murders, and admitted to wanting to die after the Petit triple murder as well.

"[Hayes] described his persistent desire to die were because of his feelings of guilt, remorse and his condition of confinement," said Amble.

Since entering the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution, Hayes has attempted to overdose on a variety of pills. In October 2007, prison authorities found 20 pills that Hayes had hoarded in his cell and in January 2009 puncture wounds on his left forearm were spotted.

In January, Hayes "ingested a toxic level of thorazine," an anti-psychotic drug that Amble testified Hayes was not prescribed.

In August, just a month before his trial was slated to begin, Hayes tried to overdose on Ibuprofen, according to Amble.

Hayes told Amble that he often fantasized about killing himself, and even thought about sticking his head in the toilet in his cell and doing a back flip, presumably to break his neck.

Entering prison at 200 lbs, Hayes has since lost 70 lbs, in part because of his paranoia that the prison staff was "contaminating his food."