# Death penalty debate expected in House



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

By DAVID KIBBE, Standard-Times staff writer

BOSTON -- The Massachusetts House of Representatives is poised to hold its first major debate on the death penalty in four years, taking up a proposal from Gov. Mitt Romney today or tomorrow. 
Romney hopes to overcome opposition to the death penalty by requiring the use of scientific methods such as DNA testing before someone can be executed. 
But the proposal still faces an uphill fight in the House, which has defeated the death penalty three times since 1997. House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi opposes capital punishment, and the Legislature's Judiciary Committee is expected to issue a negative recommendation on the bill. 
"He is an opponent of capital punishment for a number of reasons," said DiMasi spokeswoman Kimberly Haberlin. "I think it's been proven that the death penalty is not a deterrent to crime. The speaker does not believe that government should be in the business of espousing revenge. It's very costly." 
DiMasi told legislators months ago that the death penalty likely would be debated by the full House this fall. The Legislature ends its formal session for the year tomorrow at midnight. The two-year session for 2005-06 resumes in January. 
"When the speaker talked about his fall agenda in the beginning of September, and members were informed, we told various press outlets that we anticipated a debate on the death penalty," Haberlin said. "It's something that has been part of the plan." 
The House defeated the death penalty by a tie vote in 1997, and then by wider margins in 1999 and 2001. The last House vote, in March 2001, was 92-60 against. 
"I think it will go down in the House," said Rep. Antonio F.D. Cabral, D-New Bedford, who opposes capital punishment. "Every time we have a new Republican governor, it seems this debate sort of gets resurrected. We had this debate under Weld and Cellucci and Swift, and now again, for whatever platform (Romney) wants to use it." 
Massachusetts is one of 14 states in the nation without the death penalty. 
Romney's bill would reinstate capital punishment for terrorists, mass murderers, murders involving torture and the slaying of law enforcement officers. 
"The weakness in death penalty statutes in other states, of course, is the fear that you may execute someone who is innocent," Romney said. "We remove that possibility." 
Cabral did not think Romney's "no doubt" standard would persuade opponents of capital punishment. 
"That has not changed my mind, and I don't think it will change many people's minds," Cabral said. "I think it's difficult to remove doubt when human beings are involved. … I think the best punishment is life in prison and throw the key away." 

This story appeared on Page A3 of The Standard-Times on November 15, 2005.


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## frapmpd24 (Sep 3, 2004)

> "He is an opponent of capital punishment for a number of reasons," said DiMasi spokeswoman Kimberly Haberlin. "I think it's been proven that the death penalty is not a deterrent to crime. The speaker does not believe that government should be in the business of espousing revenge. It's very costly."


If they do it right it does not have to be as costly. Follow the model of the Commonwealth of Virginia, they have an average length of stay of 6 yrs on death row appeals and all. On the other hand if they adopt the ways of Florida and Georgia and drag things out 20 yrs, which is more Massachusetts like, then they get what they deserve. Texas also has a qualification for the death penalty for anyone who kills a child under 6 yrs old, that would be a nice addition.

Does not believe that government should be in the business of espousing revenge? Not like this is not a well established method of retribution in Massachusetts and the US. As far as I remember Massachusetts was the state that burned "suspected" witches in lovely Salem. Using past history as a guide, from the colonial times on up to 1972 when the U.S. Supreme Court basically called the states on the carped and required more stringent and specific death penalty statutes, I think a 
death penalty with some prudence and caution would cut it in this state. Time for the elected officials to listen to their "constituents" ... I am sure a ballot question would pass.


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## USMCTrooper (Oct 23, 2003)

*1630 Plymouth Plantation*--John Billington, one of the signers of the Pilgrims' compact, becomes the* first* criminal executed in the American colonies when he is hanged for murder for fatally shooting fellow-colonist John Newcomin

*No, the death penalty is not part of Massachusetts history at all............*:roll:


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## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

*House Defeats Romney Death Penalty Bill*

*Gov. Said Bill Would Have Safeguards *

November 16, 2005

*BOSTON -- *House lawmakers soundly rejected Gov. Mitt Romney's death penalty bill Tuesday, dashing the Republican governor's hopes of establishing a national "gold standard" for capital punishment in liberal Massachusetts.

Romney had touted the bill as foolproof, saying it would have strict safeguards and seek executions in "very, very rare circumstances," such as terrorism, serial killing or murdering police officers or other public servants.

But critics in the House said there's no way to craft a foolproof death penalty bill and that innocent people could still be put to death.

The House defeated the bill on a 99-to-53 vote after more than four hours of impassioned debate. The Senate hasn't scheduled a debate on the bill.

Rep. Eugene O'Flaherty, D-Chelsea, said scientific evidence presented at trial can sometimes be flawed or misinterpreted because it is gathered and interpreted by people.

"No system that relies on scientific evidence can truly be developed that flawlessly and with no doubt separates the guilty from the innocent," he said.

Romney, who is weighing a presidential run in 2008, said his plan would have set the nation's highest standard of proof for ensuring that only the guilty were executed, using scientific evidence such as DNA and multiple checks and balances, including review by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

Romney defended the bill Tuesday, calling it the most fail-safe in the country.

"The bill that we put together is exactly as advertised: One that takes out the risk of executing someone who is innocent and it does put in place the ultimate penalty for those who carry out the most horrible crimes in society," Romney said.

He said he has taken heat from conservatives who feel the bill is too restrictive, but also acknowledged he hasn't give the bill the same level of attention and lobbying muscle as other issues.

Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey called the House action a "missed opportunity to set a new legal standard" for capital punishment.

"I find this very disappointing. I had hoped that they would have taken a serious look at this legislation and realized that it is unique," she said moments after the vote.

Romney had pointed to other safeguards in the bill designed to protect the innocent, such as a requirement that physical evidence must directly link the defendant to the crime scene. Only one or two people a year would face the penalty under the bill, Romney estimated.

Some death penalty supporters who voted for the bill said Romney's legislation was too cautious and should also have included those found guilty of first degree murder or the killing of children.

They said the death penalty would not only deter people from committing murders, but is also fair justice. Without the death penalty, the life of the murderer is given greater value than the life of their victim, supporters said

"Without capital punishment we have devalued an individual's life. Someone's got to tell me what a life is worth when that life is snuffed out," said state Rep. George Peterson, R-Grafton.

"What is that life worth when someone takes it? I believe it is worth that person's life."

But opponents said the death penalty is unfairly applied to the poor or racial minorities, is too expensive and runs counter to the trend in the world where increasing numbers of countries have abolished capital punishment.

Opponents also said the notion that the death penalty is a deterrent is flawed, given that those convicted of first degree murder in Massachusetts already face life in prison without parole.

"Show me a murderer who decides to kill because he thinks 'I'm only going to get life in prison,"' said Garrett J. Bradley, D-Hingham.

During the debate, lawmakers recalled stories of family members and friends who had been murdered while others told of their experiences as prosecutors who investigated and tried those accused of murder.

Death penalty bills have faced increasing opposition from state lawmakers in recent years.

Support for capital punishment peaked in 1997 following the gruesome abduction and murder of 10-year-old Jeffery Curley of Cambridge.

The House, after a wrenching debate, initially approved the death penalty by one vote that year. On a final, procedural tally, a single House lawmaker, Democrat John Slattery of Peabody, changed his mind, killing the measure.

Since then, the margin of opposition has steadily grown in the House, which defeated another death penalty bill two years later by 80-73 margin.

In 1982, 54 percent of Massachusetts voters approved a death penalty ballot question, which was later ruled unconstitutional by the state Supreme Judicial Court.

Massachusetts is one of just a dozen states without capital punishment. The last execution here was in 1947.

_Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed._


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## topcop14 (Jul 13, 2004)

Show me a murderer who decides to kill because he thinks 'I'm only going to get life in prison,"' said Garrett J. Bradley, D-Hingham. 

Show me a murder who actually gets life without parole in this stupid liberal ass state!:BM:


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