Lawmaker Seeks To Repeal Death Penalty
Law Enforcement Calls Penalty Effective Deterrent
Two months after Michael Addison received the first death penalty sentence in New Hampshire in 50 years for shooting and killing a police officer, one lawmaker says it's time to repeal the law.
The proposal generated intense debate at the State House on Tuesday. Opponents of the death penalty call it "frontier justice" and argued before the Criminal Justice Committee that it's time for the law to come off the books. But law enforcement officials called it a matter of public safety.
From the standpoint of the Manchester Police Department, the debate over the death penalty in New Hampshire is centered on the 2006 murder of Officer Michael Briggs.
"I saw the due process that Michael Addison got, and I thought it was remarkable," Chief David Mara said. "I thought the opportunity he had to spare himself was amazing. Michael Briggs didn't get any of that."
Setting the moral aspect of the death penalty aside, those who want to repeal it also cited the cost. The two capital murder trials involving Addison and John Brooks last year cost more than $1 million, and that's before the appeals process begins in both cases.
Some argued about the image having the death penalty creates for New Hampshire.
"We are not Texas. We are New Hampshire," said bill sponsor Rep. Steven Lindsey, D-Cheshire. "We attract visitors and investors to come here, and I like to think of us as the Switzerland of North America."
New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte also testified, making it clear that she believes repealing the death penalty would put police officers and judges at greater risk from desperate criminals.
"What deterrence will there be to career criminals who may already be facing a life sentence at the time they are stopped by a police officer?" Ayotte said. "Why wouldn't they pull the trigger and take the chance at getting way?"
The bill has not yet been approved for the House floor. Both sides of the controversial issue said that a review of the law is healthy.
Other death penalty bills are also being considered. One calls for a moratorium on executions until a commission can be formed to study the matter, while another would allow for death by firing squad in certain cases.
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