Malloy commutes lunch sentence of 15-pound lobster

STONINGTON, Conn. (AP) -- A 15-pound lobster facing a sentence of lunch has received a pardon from Connecticut's governor.

The Day of New London reports Gov. Dannel P. Malloy was visiting tourist attractions in southeastern Connecticut when he issued the impromptu pardon at Abbott's Lobster in the Rough restaurant in Noank.

The governor then released the crustacean into the Mystic River.

The move came a day after a Niantic man bought a 17-pound lobster at a Waterford restaurant and released it back into Long Island Sound.

Randy Fiveash, the state's tourism director, compared the governor's action to the president's annual pardon of a turkey on Thanksgiving.

Malloy has been visiting tourist spots across the state after launching a two-year, $27 million campaign earlier this year to promote the industry.