Missouri State Senator Gina Walsh recent­ly voiced her sup­port for Senate Bill 247, a bill to repeal the death penal­ty and replace it with life with­out parole. Sen. Walsh cit­ed the lack of deter­rence and unfair­ness as her pri­ma­ry con­cerns about cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment. ​“It does­n’t deter crime. It dis­crim­i­nates against racial minori­ties and poor peo­ple who can’t afford attor­neys,” Walsh said. The bill was recent­ly heard in the Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee of the sen­ate. Missouri has car­ried out two exe­cu­tions since 2005, and 68 since 1976. The state ranks 5th in the coun­try in exe­cu­tions. Sen. Walsh called the death penal­ty ​“as much of a pro-life issue as abor­tion.” Although she said she was aware many of her con­stituents would not agree with her, she said, ​“I think when peo­ple are edu­cat­ed, sup­port for the death penal­ty dimin­ish­es sub­stan­tial­ly. I don’t think I could sit, as a human being, on a jury…and put some­one to death.”

(S. Levin, ​“Death Penalty Repeal in Missouri: Senator Gina Walsh Says Capital Punishment is Not Pro-Life,” Riverfront Times, March 4, 2013). See Recent Legislation and Deterrence. Maryland’s sen­ate may vote on a death penal­ty repeal bill on March 5.

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