• Passed a bill in July 2002, exempting the mentally retarded from the death penalty in which retardation, described as “significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning,” will be determined before the trial. For more information regarding this legislation, Click Here.
  • On January 24, 2001, (SJR 3) a Joint Resolution, sponsored by Sen. Simpson, was submitted by the Delaware State Senate and the House of Representatives to establish an independent, non-partisan Commission on the Death Penalty to study all aspects of the state’s death penalty. The Commission will hold public hearings and allow witnesses to testify on issues relevant to the administration of the death penalty in Delaware, and then report its findings and recommendations regarding the death penalty, including remedies for any deficiencies found by the Commission, to the Governor, the members of the 141st General Assembly, and the Delaware Supreme Court, by January 8, 2002.