Conservatives and Republicans Support Death Penalty Repeal Bill in Montana

A bipar­ti­san group of leg­is­la­tors in Montana will intro­duce a bill to replace the state’s death penal­ty with a sen­tence of life with­out parole. The spon­sors include two Republicans and two Democrats. A coali­tion of con­ser­v­a­tive law­mak­ers, reli­gious groups, and human rights groups sup­port the repeal of cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment. Republican Sen. Matthew Rosendale (pic­tured), a mem­ber of Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, said his stance on the death penal­ty did not cost him votes. ​“People know where I stand on the death penal­ty and I still got elect­ed by a wide margin.…[I]f you stand up and say, ​‘I’m against the death penal­ty,’ you will not lose con­ser­v­a­tive votes.” He added that con­ser­v­a­tives, many of whom are con­cerned about abor­tion, have a vari­ety of rea­sons for oppos­ing the death penal­ty: ​“Everyone has their own rea­sons why they sup­port end­ing the death penal­ty. For some folks, it’s for fis­cal rea­sons, and oth­er folks oppose it for moral issues.” 

A sim­i­lar bill passed the state Senate in 2009 and 2011, but died in the House Judiciary Committee.