Conn. death row inmate’s prison food complaint rejected

HARTFORD, Conn. — A federal judge in Connecticut has rejected a complaint from a home invasion killer on death row who says the food he is being served in prison is not kosher.

Steven Hayes says he converted to Orthodox Judaism after killing two girls and their mother during a night of torment inside their Cheshire home in 2007. He sued the Department of Correction in August, alleging his diet wasn’t being properly prepared in the kitchen at the Northern Correctional Institution.

Hayes says he’s being forced to choose between eating and sinning.

The judge rejected his motions, citing two rabbis who say the preparation process complies with Jewish dietary laws.

Hayes and an accomplice were sentenced to death for the murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela.