Just too icky

MANIFESTO

Keeping the streets safe for clubwomen throughout Connecticut,

Gov. M. Jodi Rell on Thursday urged Chief State's Attorney Kevin T. Kane to seek the immediate imprisonment of serial rapist David Pollitt for violating the terms of his probation.

Pollitt, who had been convicted of attacking women in several Connecticut towns, has been staying with his sister's family at their Southbury home since his release from prison 11 months ago. Probation officials said Pollitt, who wears an electronic monitoring device, left his sister's yard for 15 minutes on Sept. 3 in violation of his strict probation conditions. He could serve almost 20 more years if convicted of violating his probation.

In a letter to Kane dated today, Rell wrote: "As you know, I vigorously opposed Mr. Pollitt's release into the community last year. However, the court freed him, causing widespread and justifiable concern among the residents of the Southbury neighborhood.

"Mr. Pollitt's family has denied that he left the yard and say the GPS unit often malfunctions," Rell wrote. "His defenders say it is unfair to pursue charges for an alleged event that 'only' lasted 15 minutes. This argument is stunningly unpersuasive.

Personally, I see no reason to disbelieve the Pollitts' account, but even if the incident didn't happen as they've reported, the state's chief executive really has no business sticking her nose into what is really a judicial area. If one thinks about it, this is too similar to the heavyhandedness that you-know-who evinced during the Wooten affair.