Home invasion in Cheshire: Jury starts deliberating in home invasion case

[Yahoo! News]

AP - A Connecticut jury has begun deliberating whether a man convicted in a deadly home invasion should get the death penalty or life in prison. Jurors deciding punishment for a man convicted in a deadly home invasion suggested Friday on their first day of deliberations that they were divided over whether special circumstances existed that could automatically spare him the death penalty.

The New Haven jury weighing the fate of Steven Hayes sent two notes to Judge Jon Blue before adjourning without a verdict. They return Saturday.

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The jury needs to unanimously agree if certain mitigating factors specified in the law apply against Hayes, who was convicted of killing a woman and her two daughters in the 2007 home invasion in Cheshire. Among the issues, Hayes' attorneys say he should get life in prison because his mental capacity was significantly impaired during the crime.

Jurors must be unanimous either way, that the so-called statutory mitigating factors exist or they do not. If the jury does not find unanimity, it could lead to a mistrial on the sentencing part of the trial and a new penalty phase to determine Hayes' sentence.