HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - One of Connecticut's longest-serving prosecutors is retiring after a 46-year career that included winning death sentences against two men in one of the state's most infamous crimes - the 2007 home invasion killings of a woman and her two daughters.

New Haven State's Attorney Michael Dearington is leaving the post he has held since 1978 effective June 1. He became a state prosecutor in 1972 after two years as a prosecutor in Washington, D.C.

The 73-year-old Dearington says the job was about helping people, not just putting away the bad guys.

Dearington convinced juries to impose death penalties against Joshua Komisarjevsky (koh-mih-sar-JEF'-skee) and Steven Hayes for the home invasion killings in Cheshire. The state later abolished capital punishment, leaving the two men to serve life sentences.