What’s Next for the Death Penalty

By Laura Knoy on Sunday, March 29, 2009.

Last week the State House voted to abolish capital punishment for the the second time in a decade. But death penalty opponents still have a hard fight ahead of them: the bill will face a tough time in the Senate and the governor has alluded to vetoing the measure if it reaches his desk. We’ll look at the deep emotions and politics behind this latest vote and what may happen next to the bill.

Guests

  • Arnie Alpert, New Hampshire Program Coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee, and a member of the steering committee of the New Hampshire Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
  • David Hess, Republican state representative from Hooksett, Deputy Republican Leader and author of the original death penalty bill in 1974

We'll also be joined by

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I'm a white man living in
Tim in Strafford Cty - Mon, 03/30/2009 - 08:47

I'm a white man living in Dover. David Hess' statement that there is no history of racial discrimination in NH is completely inconsistent with my experience. I would like to know if he was being serious. I hear white people complaining about blacks, latinos and asians all the time.

Closure
GregD - Mon, 03/30/2009 - 08:59

An argument was made that the death penalty can provide closure to survivors of a murder victim. Without disputing that fact, I think the discussion ignored the implications of this view. Could the death penalty be suspended for a particular defendant at the request of survivors? If so, would that not leave us with a very unequally applied penalty?

capital punishment
dennis mathews - Mon, 03/30/2009 - 09:18

Why is it that murder is the only violent crime for which our society would seek a commensurate physical punishment? We do not seek to subject a rapist to rape or a batterer to corporal punishment. I find it ironic that some seem to feel it is inappropriate for the state to inflict pain and suffering yet justified in deliberately ending a life. Perhaps it is because it is relatively easy to simply forget about the person whose life was ended by capital punishment.

Dennis
Barrington

Dan Gorenstein's comment
Dudley Sharp - Mon, 04/13/2009 - 12:55

Dan Gorenstein's comment about the death penalty costing 10 times more than a hmicide case could not be more out of plave.

The issue is similar capital murder cases, and the cost differntial in prosecuting the same or similar cases for the death penalty or life without parole.

Dan, it would seem was comparing a death penalty case to any category of homicide.

In reality, we have protocols, today, whereby the death penalty may be less expensive than life cases.

Virginia executes in 5-7 years. 65% of those sentenced to death have been executed. Only 15% of their death penalty cases are overturned. The national averages are 11 years, 14% and 36%, respectively.

With the high costs of long term imprisonment, a true life sentence will be more expensive than such a death penalty protocol.