Publications & Testimony

State Legislators Advance Bills to Ban Juvenile Death Penalty Just weeks after legislators in Wyoming and South Dakota passed legislation to ban the execution of juvenile offenders, lawmakers in Florida are on a similar course that may send a bill that eliminates the death penalty for those under the age of 18 to Governor Jeb Bush for signature into law. Members of the Florida Senate passed the juvenile death penalty ban by a vote of 26 – 12, and the House is expected to take up the measure later…

Passed a bill in May 2003, 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. Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn signed into law four pieces of legislation regarding the death penalty: Assembly Bill 17 increased pay for lawyers who defend death penalty cases. (Signed May 12) Assembly Bill 15 outlawed the…

Nebraska’s Death Penalty Repeal Bill Falls One Vote Short A measure to repeal Nebraska’s death penalty and replace it with a sentence of life without parole fell one vote short of moving to the second of three stages in consideration by the unicameral legislature. It was the first time the full legislature had debated the death penalty in nearly two decades. The measure’s defeat followed two days of debate about capital punishment, including whether decisions to impose the death penalty reflect…

Montana Assistant Attorney General Calls for Death Penalty Repeal Montana Assistant Attorney General John Connor has voiced support for a legislative measure that would abolish capital punishment in his state. Stating his belief that the death penalty does not deter crime and is expensive, Connor told the Montana House Judiciary Committee, “It seems to me to be the ultimate incongruity to say we respect life so much that we’re going to dedicate all our money, all our resources, our legal…

The legislature defeated a 2007 bill that would have made the death penalty mandatory for those who murder law enforcement officers. Missouri became the 16^th state to ban the execution of inmates with mental retardation. The Missouri bill, signed by Gov. Bob Holden on July 2, but not effective until August 28, is not retroactive to those currently on death row. However, the governor indicated he would consider commuting the death sentences of those who meet the law’s definition for retardation.

Minnesota Committee Votes Down Death Penalty 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…

Michigan Lawmakers Reaffirm State’s Longstanding Ban on Capital Punishment In a vote upholding the state’s longstanding abolition of the death penalty, Michigan lawmakers refused to support a measure that would have put capital punishment before state voters in a referendum. The vote fell 18 short of the 2/3 required for passage. During a lengthy House debate regarding the bill, Representative Jack Minor (D‑Flint) told his colleagues that studies show crime rates are lower in states without the…

Massachusetts Again Votes Overwhelmingly Against Reinstating Death Penalty After over an hour of debate, the Massachusetts House of Representatives overwhelmingly rejected an attempt to reinstate the death penalty. Prior to the 110 – 46 vote, Governor Deval Patrick had vowed to veto the bill if it were approved. The bill was similar to one submitted by former Governor Mitt Romney as a “gold standard” for capital punishment. State Representatives cited high costs and the possibility for human…

NEW VOICES: Law Enforcement Officials Gather in Maryland to Oppose Death Penalty Corrections officials, prosecutors and police chiefs recently gathered in Annapolis, Maryland, to voice support for a legislative measure that would repeal the state’s death penalty. “It is a human system, and because it is fallible and because it is human, it makes mistakes. Executions make those mistakes irreversible,” said Matthew Campbell, a former deputy state’s attorney for Montgomery and Howard counties.

Victims and Law Enforcement Support Kentucky Death Penalty Review Legislation to establish a commission to examine Kentucky’s death penalty and report its findings to the General Assembly has gained support from former law enforcement officials and victims’ family members. The bill, proposed by Rep. Tom Burch, would require the task force to review whether capital punishment deters crime, is applied fairly, and is still acceptable to the public. It would mark the first time in four decades that…