Joshua Komisarjevsky Calls Dr. Petit a Coward

Okay, I haven't written about what's been going on in the trial. What was there to say? It's a brutal crime? I can't imagine the pain Dr. William Petit feels? I agree with the jury's verdict? Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky both deserve to die?

All obvious. All been said before.

But this. Even if Komisarjevsk is just writing this crap because he knows it'll be used against him and he wants the death penalty, you just don't do this. He took everything from Dr. Petit, everything, and then he calls the man a "coward" in a document that's sure to be read in court.

Joshua Komisarjevsky, Infamous Fiction Author

In his writings, Komisarjevsky says, "Mr. Petit is a coward, he ran away when he felt his own life was threatened. Time and time again I gave him the chance to save his family."

He also claims Dr. Petit was "passive" towards saving his family. "If you don't want to defend your family, then take your chances with the criminal while police sit outside and follow protocol."

I don't know what Komisarjevsky thinks someone who's beaten nearly to death and tied up (even when Dr. Petit escaped he couldn't unbind his feet) can do, and I don't necessarily care. I think much of what Komisarjevsky writes is self-serving, penned in an attempt to reach some desired goal.

But don't spit in the face of the man whose life you destroyed. Komisarjevsky took everything Dr. Petit lived for but left the man alive. I hate to say this, and please don't take it the wrong way, but the crime would be a little less cruel if Dr. Petit hadn't survived; he could at least be with his family, then. He'd be at peace. Instead, he's living through this pain every day.

Dr. William Petit Shows Indefinable Strength

Ever since I heard about this crime, I thought Dr. Petit acted heroically. He was beaten with a baseball bat and lost between six and seven pints of blood. He was bound to a support pole by a rope around his chest and waist and his hands were bound with plastic zip ties, yet he amazingly managed to free himself and—with his ankles still tied—jumped, crawled, and finally rolled out of the basement and to his neighbors' house where he called for help.

It was heroic. That makes this whole tragedy all the worse. Dr. Petit's actions should have saved his family. Most people couldn't do what he did. He was beaten almost to death but still managed to escape to get help.

His actions are inspiring. We can all only hope that, if we are ever (god forbid) in such a situation, we can do what he did.

He deserves a medal for his heroism, he really does. Instead the world brutally murdered his family and burned his house, destroying his memories.

Helen Ubiñas, a Hartford Courant columnist who covered the trial, told CNN that the testimony and evidence made the trial "an incredibly grueling ordeal for the family and for the jury."

CNN asked Ubiñas if she was surprised by Petit's stoicism in court.

"I think that's the one thing that many of us have been asking. We've been in awe of not just Dr. Petit, who of course has shown tremendous strength and grace through all this, but the whole Hawke and Petit families, I think, have shown the strength that many of us just wonder [if] we would have if we were put in that same situation."

Connecticut doctor: Family was 'destroyed by evil'. CNN.com.

The Father Didn't 'Flee for his Life'

I don't think Dr. Petit escaped to save his own skin; he escaped to save his family.* I believe his only thoughts were of his loved ones. Rather than fearing for his own life, he feared for their lives. He showed bravery in trying to get help. And that he's still here three years after losing his wife and daughters shows how strong he truly is.

Bound at the ankles by hard, plastic "zip ties," disoriented from a severe head wound, William Petit "rolled' up the driveway of his neighbor, David Simcik. "Dave, Dave, Dave," he called.

Lying on his side, Petit banged on the garage door. When it opened, his neighbor did not recognize him beneath the blood and swelling.

"Dave, it's me, Bill. Call 9-1-1."

A plainclothes policeman appeared seemingly within seconds. Gun drawn he asked Petit, "Who's in the house?"

"The girls," Petit cried.

The policeman, dressed in a heavy, black SWAT uniform, yelled two more times, "Who's in the house?"

Twice more Petit cried, "The girls are in the house." Finally, the policeman told Petit to "stay down, you're a witness"—to which, Dr. Petit beseeched "the girls are in the house."

It Kept Coming Back To "The Girls". Katie Rohner, New Haven Independent.

I don't believe that Komisarjevsky wounded William Petit with his words. But even though Dr. Petit said, "I really don't want to dignify the ravings of a sociopath who appears to be a pathological liar as well," I think Komisarjevsky poured salt in wounds that already exist. I think it adds to doubts that Dr. Petit already struggles with.

Maybe three years and therapy have helped Dr. Petit, but I don't know by how much, and sitting through the grueling trial must make everything raw again.

I know Komisarjevsky is a psychopath and a liar, and nothing he says truly matters when compared with what he did. At the same time…

It would be difficult to convince me Dr. Petit doesn't suffer with survivor's guilt, struggling daily with thoughts of what he could have done differently.*

In his head, he did save his family, even if he doesn't survive. Countless times, countless ways, he saves them.

Who's the Real Coward Here?

Joshua Komisarjevsky beat a sleeping father with a baseball bat. He tied up the family. He stole from a hard-working family of four. He sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl. He took obscene photos of the girls with which he planned to blackmail the parents. He poured gasoline on Michaela and set the house on fire. He and Hayes killed three people and believed they were killing four.

Everything I just listed is the act of a coward.

Dr. Petit, on the other hand, is strong. He has sat through this harrowing trial, sacrificing his mental health to bring his family justice. He was brave, trying to save his wife and daughters. He may not have gotten the right outcome, but he didn't fail; the world failed him.

Dr. Petit acted heroically. I really hope he knows that.

Sources:

• Crimesider's Coverage of the Petit Case, CBS
• Dr. William Petit, Sole Survivor, Takes Stand in Home Invasion Murder Trial
• Home Invasion Murderer: Cohort the Mastermind, CBS News - Hayes' Lawyers Use Writings of Accomplice in Effort to Avoid the Death Penalty
• Connecticut doctor: Family was 'destroyed by evil', CNN
• Jury Finds Steven Hayes Guilty, Now Must Decide If He Lives Or Dies, Los Angeles Times
• Accused Petit Murderer Joshua Komisarjevsky: 'I Lost Control' and 'Enjoyed It' - Steven Hayes' Trial Includes Diary of Komisarjevsky, ABC News
• Excerpts from Joshua Komisarjevsky's Journal [pdf], ABC News
• The final insult: Connecticut home invasion 'killer' taunts father for being too much of a 'coward' to save his family, Daily Mail Online
• It Kept Coming Back To "The Girls", New Haven Independent
• Dignity and Grace, Hartford Courant - Photographs of Dr. Petit After the Jury Reached its Verdict
• Father struggles to carry on slain family's legacy, USA Today - Dr. Petit's strength after the loss of his family; he never just 'gives up'

* I do not actually know Dr. Petit, his motives, or his thoughts. I don't claim to, either. And I don't want to put words in his mouth. I'm not trying to be offensive by making assumptions about him or his life. I'm just using my own thoughts on this as an example: what I would do or think in such an awful situation. But the experience he has lived through is so horrible I don't think anyone could truly imagine what it's like to be in his shoes. I apologize if I get it wrong.