For the first time since 2000, state lawmakers are sending a bill repealing the death penalty to the governor's desk, despite his vow to veto it. We examine the arguments on both sides, recap the history of the death penalty in N.H., and look at how a repeal might affect the state's sole inmate on death row, Michael Addison.
GUESTS:
- Kevin Avard - N.H. State Senator and prime sponsor of the bill (SB593) to repeal the death penalty; he's been in the Senate representing District 12 since 2015.
- Ethan DeWitt - Concord Monitor statehouse reporter.
- Chuck Douglas - trial lawyer, former N.H. U.S. Representative, and a New Hampshire Supreme Court Associate Justice. He testified against repeal of the death penalty.
Related Reading
Read Ethan DeWitt's article in the Concord Monitor on the state's readiness to actually carry out the death penalty.
Here is Governor Sununu's full statement on the death penalty from February 2018:
“I stand with crime victims, members of the law enforcement community, and advocates for justice in opposing a repeal of the death penalty. A top priority of my administration has been to strengthen laws for crime victims and their families. Repealing the death penalty sends us in exactly the wrong direction, and I will veto the bill if it reaches my desk. There is no doubt that the most heinous crimes warrant the death penalty.”
