NEW VOICES: New York Lawmakers Say Death Penalty’s Future May Be in Doubt

According to promi­nent New York law­mak­ers, there is lit­tle chance that leg­is­la­tors will pass a bill this year to fix the state’s uncon­sti­tu­tion­al death penal­ty. Many experts believe that the state’s statute, which N.Y.‘s high­est court struck down ear­li­er this year, may nev­er be re-enact­ed. Republican Senator Dale M. Volker not­ed that when the Court of Appeals struck down the law, New York heard ​“the death knell of the death penal­ty, for the time being.” Sheldon Silver, the Democratic Speaker of the Assembly and a death penal­ty pro­po­nent, not­ed that many peo­ple ​“are will­ing to accept life with­out parole, which was not an avail­able rem­e­dy before 10 years ago.” Silver stat­ed, ​“Many peo­ple have ques­tions. I don’t think it’s some­thing that should be on a fast track.” In the com­ing weeks, New York’s Assembly will hold pub­lic hear­ings regard­ing the state’s death penal­ty laws. (New York Times, November 18, 2004). The hear­ings are sched­uled to take place in New York City on December 15 and in Albany on January 25. See DPIC’s Summary of People v. Stephen LaValle (over­turn­ing N.Y.‘s death penal­ty).