Steven Hayes, convicted of an infamous triple homicide in Cheshire, Conn., was sentenced to death by a judge today.

In New Haven Superior Court on Church Street this morning, Judge Jon Blue issued Hayes death sentences on all six of the capital felonies Hayes was found guilty of Oct. 5. Hayes was convicted on 16 out of 17 counts in the July 2007 murders of William Petit’s wife Jennifer Hawke-Petit and their two daughters, Hayley and Michaela, at the Petits’ home in Cheshire. Petit was badly beaten but escaped alive.

“Death for me will be a welcome relief, and I hope it will bring peace and comfort to those who I have hurt so much,” Hayes said in court, according to a transcript released today.

Petit, who has urged Hayes’ execution, spoke in court of his memories of his slain family and said he has received more than 15,000 letters from all 50 states since the murders, according to a transcript released today.

[via New Haven Independent]