Cheshire residents filled the town council chamber to debate whether a book about the Petit killings should be barred from the library. Photo by WTIC's Matt Dwyer.

Posted: Thursday, 22 October 2009 11:46PM

Cheshire Residents Debate Blocking Petit Book from Library

Matt Dwyer Reporting

At a packed public hearing at Cheshire town hall, residents argue about whether a book about the killings of three members of the Petit family should be allowed in the town library.

The book "In the Middle of the Night" by Brian McDonald includes an interview with one of the accused killers, who gives his version of what happened in the Petit family home in Cheshire on the night of the killings.

Nancy Stover said inflamatory speech should NOT be protected by the first amendement. She argued that other material is excluded from the Cheshire Public Library's shelves, so this book should be omited also.

"Pornography and racism is indecent," Stover said. "It goes beyond the realm of human decency. Wouldn't you think rape and murder would, too?"

Many residents said they did not support censorship, but the book should be banned from the library either forever, or until the trials of Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes are over. Hayes' lawyers have argued that the publication of the book makes it more difficult for their client to get a fair trial.

But Martin Cobern said banning the book from the library would be censorship.

"James Joyce's Ulysses was banned because its language might offend Edwardian sensibilities," Cobern said. "Huckleberry Finn, one of the most eloquent arguments against slavery, was banned because it used the N-word, which might offend the descendents of slaves."

Library advisory board members say they are considering changes to the book selection process. The board may reccomend changes to that policy.

The library's director has said she ordered the book because it was requested, and because the killings have become a significant event in town.