We’re less than a quarter into 2018, and the movement to end the death penalty has already made major strides in state capitols around the country.
In Utah, a Republican-sponsored repeal bill passed out of a House committee for the first time ever. Two years ago, Utah came close to ending the death penalty but ran out of time before getting to the House. This year, Utah’s session was extra short, but with strong backing from conservative lawmakers and civic leaders, the state is primed and ready to take repeal the rest of the way in 2019.
Washington’s death penalty also appears to be on its last legs. The Senate voted ‘yes’ on a repeal bill and so did a House committee, leaving just one final hurdle left. But like in Utah, Washington lawmakers ran out of time before they could get the bill to the Governor’s desk. The state, however, was a veritable echo chamber of voices calling for repeal, from families of murder victims, law enforcement, newspaper editorial boards, and, recently, from Kirk Bloodsworth, who had the personal experience of being exonerated from death row. Stay tuned for what is sure to be an exciting campaign next year.
The legislative session in New Hampshire is just beginning – and a bill for repeal was introduced with a bang. More lawmakers have signed on as sponsors in the Senate than are even needed for passage. The Governor has set up a roadblock, saying he will veto the bill. But in the face of such overwhelming support for repeal in the legislature, it doesn’t seem like he’ll be able to hold out forever.
Down south in Louisiana, state lawmakers are just getting down to work at the Capitol. Bills for repeal have been introduced in both the House and Senate. Eleven men have been exonerated from the Louisiana’s death row after evidence of their wrongful conviction was revealed. The state’s capital defense system is so under-funded, many defendants don’t even have lawyers. And last year, a report found that the top four death sentencing counties in Louisiana had high levels of prosecutorial misconduct. In short, the death penalty is a mess – but one that might be cleaned up soon.
In addition to repeal bills, lawmakers in 5 states (Kentucky, South Dakota, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia) have considered bills to exempt those with severe mental illness from the death penalty. Florida prosecutors are deciding how to handle the more than 125 cases in which death sentences have been overturned because the U.S. and State Supreme Court’s decisions requiring unanimous juries. And lawmakers in Maryland, New Mexico, and Delaware are poised to defeat or have already defeated efforts to reinstate their death penalty laws.
Photo credit: “New Hampshire capitol” by Michel G. CC BY-NC 2.0, via Flickr.
