Haywood’s crime

On Oct. 30, 2002, Haywood, then 23 years old and living in Waterbury, and two accomplices were involved in an attempted robbery at a home in Bethel. During the incident, a gun fired and the home’s resident, William Brown, was shot in the head. Brown died five months later.

All three men were convicted in connection with Brown’s death. Haywood was convicted of felony murder and sentenced to 77 years.

Evidence presented at his trial declared that Haywood was the one who shot Brown. He has denied it, saying he was not armed at the time of the incident.

Nonetheless, in a statement requesting commutation, Haywood wrote that he took “full responsibility for the loss of William’s life.

“I did not shoot William but I believe that he would be here but for me. If I had not shown up at his residence, or if I would’ve intervened as soon as I realized what was happening, William would be here now with his family,” he wrote. “My actions were cowardly. I failed him, myself, and everyone who knew and expected more of me.”

Haywood said he has never had the opportunity to apologize in person to Brown’s family, and regrets that.

“The way I’ve tried to address them is to acknowledge the hurt and pain they are going through, the pain I helped cause them,” he said.

In March, his sentence was reduced to 30 years. He has served 21 years and is scheduled to be released in about nine. Gruen said she wishes Haywood had had his entire sentence commuted, but his timing was off.

“He had his hearing right in midst of the controversy, a few weeks before they shut down the whole commutation process,” she said. “The good news is that he got 47 years off his sentence. The bad news is he still has to spend 9 ½ years in prison.”