Concord
The legislation, Senate Bill 593, would strike the words “may be punished by death” from the state’s capital punishment statute, replacing them with “shall be sentenced to imprisonment for life without the possibility for parole.” New Hampshire is one of 31 states to have the death penalty, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
The measure passed the Senate, 14-10, in March, but faces a veto from Gov. Chris Sununu, who said earlier this year that it would send the state “in exactly the wrong direction” and go against the wishes of law enforcement and victims.
Thursday marked the second time in recent history that the Legislature has sent a bill repealing the policy to the governor’s desk. In 2000, Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen vetoed a similar attempt, citing confidence that New Hampshire’s system is limited and appropriate.
“There are some murders that are so brutal and heinous that the death penalty is the only appropriate penalty,” Shaheen said at the time, according to the Associated Press.
Some saw Thursday’s vote as an opportunity to change Sununu’s mind. In a tweet, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire said “the fight is not over,” vowing to increase pressure on the Governor’s Office in coming days. But on Thursday, Sununu reinforced his own commitment.
“I stand with crime victims, members of the law enforcement community and advocates for justice in opposing a repeal of the death penalty,” he said. He reiterated his vow, first made in February, that he would “veto this bill once it reaches my desk.”
In the House, the promise did little to curtail debate. For more than half an hour, representatives took to the lectern to mull the moral nuances of the punishment, ignoring the looming veto.
“What does the death penalty do? Nothing. It takes another human life for no good reason,” said Rep. Richard O’Leary, D-Manchester, who cited his experience as former deputy chief of the city’s police department to argue that the policy is ineffective as a deterrent.
“Life in a 6-by-10 cell with your freedom forever taken from you is adequate punishment,” he said. “It protects society and allows for a possibility of rehabilitation. That’s what jail is supposed to do.”
New Hampshire has one inmate awaiting death row: Michael Addison, convicted in the 2006 killing of Manchester police officer Michael Briggs. That marks a notable difference from the political landscape facing Shaheen in 2000, even as national opinions have somewhat shifted in the intervening decades against the penalty. The last New Hampshire execution was carried out in 1939.
On Thursday, Addison’s name was invoked often as a reason to keep the penalty.
“What message are we sending our police officers and what we think of their life that we think people should be heroes in jail for being cop killers?” said Rep. Jeanine Notter, R-Merrimack.
The bill includes forward-looking language intended to affect only future capital punishment situations, and allow Addison’s execution to continue. But some have raised concerns about the constitutionality of that provision, citing examples of other states that have repealed the penalty and been unable to use it on pre-existing death row inmates.
“If this repeal goes through, (lawyers for Michael Addison) will be lined up to take this killer off of death row,” said Rep. Al Baldasaro, R-Londonderry.
Rep. Werner Horn, R-Franklin, a supporter of the penalty, brought up concerns over recidivism – a capital punishment inmate could reoffend behind bars with deadly consequences, he said. Executions, he added, would prevent that.
“They don’t ever kill again,” he said. “And that is the strongest reason for keeping this.”
Some supporters of repeal brought up costs. Appeals of death penalties can drag on and rack up millions of dollars in legal costs for the state, they said.
Opponents dismissed the concerns.
“You can put a price on the life of a law enforcement officer,” Horn said. “What they do is too valuable. If we talk about spending $7 million to get to the right decision, I’m okay with that.”
But for many, their stance against the death penalty was rooted in moral, not practical, grounds.
Rep. Carol McGuire, R-Epsom, said she believed “vengeance has a cost.”
“And after a certain point, it’s not justice, it’s vengeance,” she said.
Rep. Frank Kotowski, R-Hooksett, meanwhile, invoked his religion.
“My faith tells me, ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ ” he said Thursday. “And the end of that First Commandment it does not say, ‘Except for…’ ”