AG candidates approve prosecution of Jacques case

SOUTH BURLINGTON — Both Democrats running for Vermont attorney general say they oppose capital punishment. But neither is objecting to handing a notorious Vermont case over for federal prosecution, where the defendant could face death.
Attorney General William Sorrell and Chittenden County State’s Attorney T.J. Donovan both said in a debate taped for a WCAX-TV weekend broadcast that they oppose the death penalty.
But both also said they were OK with the federal government taking over the prosecution of Michael Jacques, who is charged in the 2008 rape and murder of his 12-year-old niece Brooke Bennett in Randolph. Federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Jacques, who has pleaded not guilty.
The two-part debate will be aired on the WCAX show “You Can Quote Me” the next two Sundays.