Following two hours of testimony including representatives of crime victims and death row exonerees, the Minnesota Senate Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee voted 8-2 against reinstating the death penalty, continuing nearly a century without the sentence on the state’s books. The Committee’s vote likely blocks passage of the death penalty bill this year. Don Streufert, whose daughter was raped and murdered in 1991, was among those who testified against the bill. He noted, “No penalty or punishment can replace our daughter. We find no healing or comfort in the prospect of any murderer’s execution.” A poll released in February found that more Minnesotans oppose the reinstatement of capital punishment than support it. (Associated Press, March 24, 2004) See Victims. See Innocence.