N.H. Senate Votes to Repeal Death Penalty
New Hampshire lawmakers ignored a veto threat from the governor and voted to repeal the death penalty Thursday, reflecting growing doubts about capital punishment around the country.
The state Senate’s vote of 14-10 culminated a decade-long campaign by anti-death penalty activists in the state. The New Hampshire House of Representatives approved the measure March 9.
But Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen has promised to veto the bill. Legislative leaders concede that they probably do not have the two-thirds majority necessary to override her veto.
No state has repealed the death penalty since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed capital punishment to resume in 1976.
Thursday’s move is largely symbolic. No one is on death row in New Hampshire, which had the nation’s lowest murder rate in 1998.--Associated Press
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