Utah Senators approved legislation to repeal the death penalty last night by a vote of 20-9!
The Republican sponsor of the bill, Senator Steve Urquhart, used to support the death penalty. Just last year, he joined most of his Republican colleagues (only 5 of the 29 Senators in Utah are Democrats) in a vote to bring back the state’s firing squad. Now, Senator Urquhart is leading the charge against the death penalty.
Read about Senator Urquhart’s quest for repeal in the Washington Post, which also features Marc Hyden, coordinator of EJUSA’s national project, Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty.
Read the Salt Lake Tribune story about yesterday’s vote.
Photo credit: “State of Utah Capitol Building” by vxla. CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
