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Thread: Wyoming Capital Punishment News

  1. #21
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    It seems that every DP repeal bill has failed so far. If anything I see states trying to reinstate the DP or add to the list of aggravating factors for a death sentence.
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  2. #22
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    Whenever it comes to a referendum, the people always vote for capital punishment (e.g. Oklahoma, California, Nebraska, Wisconsin). However, the problems come when legislators decide, with little popular support to back them up, that the death penalty, all of a sudden, is wrong (e.g. Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, Maryland, Nebraska, Wisconsin).

  3. #23
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Yes I agree Moh. You could add WA and PA to that list too. Only its worse because the Governors of these states took it upon themselves to impose a moratorium without a public say.
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  4. #24
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    For fifth year in a row, Wyoming legislators kill bill that would repeal death penalty

    By Elise Schmelzer
    The Casper Star-Tribune

    For the fifth year in a row, Wyoming lawmakers killed a bill that would have ended the death penalty in Wyoming.

    The bill failed introduction Friday afternoon
    after 34 members of the House voted against it, six votes short of the number needed for it to be assigned to a committee for further consideration. Twenty-five representatives voted in favor of it.

    The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Charles Pelkey, D-Laramie, argued before the vote that studies have shown that the death penalty is not an effective deterrent to keep others from committing crimes. He also asked his peers to consider the “pragmatic argument”: Ending executions would save the state money. The bill’s fiscal note, which is compiled by non-partisan staff from the Legislative Services Office, states that repealing the death penalty would save more than $1.4 million over the next two years in costs to the state’s public defender office.

    “Death penalty cases are complex, expensive and require participation of experienced death penalty attorneys,” Pelkey said.

    Both Rep. Bill Pownall, R-Gillette, and Rep. Nathan Winters, R-Thermopolis, spoke against the bill and said that the victims of capital crimes should not be forgotten.

    “Someone has to stand for the rights of the victims whose blood cries from the ground,” Winters said. “The only one who has the authority to do that is government.”

    After the vote, Pelkey said that, all considered, a 25-34 tally was “not bad.”

    Legislators advocating for the end of capital punishment have had a rough ride — in the past five years it has never made it out of its first committee. In 2014, the bill failed to gain enough votes to even be introduced. In 2015, it died in the House Judiciary Committee. In 2016, again, it failed to be introduced. And last year it died in the House Minerals Committee.

    This year’s bill has the most sponsors it’s ever had in the past five years: seven Republicans and five Democrats. The death penalty is not a partisan issue, Pelkey said, and those who oppose it cite a number of reasons beyond moral quandaries, including financial savings and the role of government in the killing of its citizens.

    “I don’t think it’s the role of government to act in a vengeful manner,” he said. “The personal and moral question is up to every legislator.”

    Wyoming last executed a prisoner in 1992 and there are no inmates currently on death row. Of the 31 states that have the death penalty, 16 have not executed an inmate in the past five years, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Eleven of those states have not had an execution in the past decade.

    Dale Wayne Eaton was sentenced to death in 2004 — the most recent person to receive the penalty. He was convicted in the 1988 killing of a Montana woman, but a federal judge overturned his death sentence in 2014, ruling that Eaton hadn’t received adequate counsel from his public defender. Natrona County District Attorney Michael Blonigen, who prosecuted Eaton’s case, previously said that the Legislature needs to make sure the legal system has the resources to carry out executions if the death penalty remains on the books.

    Gov. Matt Mead, a former state and federal prosecutor, has previously said he believes Wyoming should keep the death penalty.

    Pelkey hoped the bill would be introduced so that lawmakers could have the important discussions surrounding the issue. Despite the bill’s failure, Pelkey was undeterred.

    “Plus, I’m a Democrat, so I’m used to banging my head against the wall,” he said.

    http://trib.com/news/state-and-regio...331a72b71.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  5. #25
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Bill to repeal death penalty proposed Wyoming Legislature

    CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Legislation that would repeal the death penalty in Wyoming has been introduced in the state Legislature.

    Republican Rep. Jared Olsen, of Cheyenne, and Republican Sen. Brian Boner, of Douglas, are the main sponsors of House Bill 145, which would leave life in prison without parole as the most severe penalty available.

    Olsen says the death penalty is costly and ineffective, noting that the state public defender office spends about $750,000 a year in taxpayer money on capital cases.

    The Legislative Service Office estimates the elimination of the death penalty would save the state that amount of money each year.

    Boner says the state has not executed anyone in 27 years and currently has no inmates on death row.

    https://www.localnews8.com/news/wyom...ture/976680827
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  6. #26
    Moderator Ryan's Avatar
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    Wyoming House passes repeal of death penalty

    CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - A proposal to end the death penalty in Wyoming has been passed by the state House of Representatives.

    House Bill 145 was approved on a 36-21 vote Friday and sent to the Senate for more debate.

    Supporters of the bill say repealing the death penalty would save local and state government money by not having to hire staff attorneys and other experts for potential death penalty cases and other expenses.

    In addition, they don't approve of government sanctioned killing.

    Opponents say the death penalty is a deterrent and a just punishment for horrific crimes.

    Wyoming is among 31 states that still has a death penalty. However, no one has been executed in Wyoming since 1992 and no one is currently on death row.

    https://www.localnews8.com/news/wyom...alty/998005404
    "How do you get drunk on death row?" - Werner Herzog

    "When we get fruit, we get the juice and water. I ferment for a week! It tastes like chalk, it's nasty" - Blaine Keith Milam #999558 Texas Death Row

  7. #27
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Wyoming Senate defeats death penalty repeal bill

    By Nick Reynolds
    Casper Star-Tribune Online

    CHEYENNE -- The Wyoming Senate defeated a bill Thursday that would have repealed the state's death penalty, ending what had been up to now the most successful legislative effort in recent memory to do away with capital punishment.

    Having passed the House by a safe margin, the bill was swiftly voted down by the Wyoming Senate on its first reading. The final vote was 12-18.

    "The vote was different than I expected to see from talking with people beforehand," said the bill's sponsor in the Senate, Brian Boner, R-Converse. "There's a lot of different factors and, at the end of the day, everyone has to make their best determination based on the information they have."

    The death penalty repeal passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

    Proponents of the bill argued that it would save the state money and create a more humane justice system, an argument that had gained substantial traffic in the House of Representatives. Sponsors of the bill noted that since the death penalty had been reinstated federally in 1973, approximately 165 death row inmates had been exonerated around the country and, according to research cited by the bill's sponsor and in anecdotal testimony from members of law enforcement, the threat of death was deemed to be an ineffective deterrent to committing crime.

    In the Senate -- which has trended more conservative than the House this session -- the bill had garnered several unlikely allies. Sen. Bill Landen, a reluctant sponsor of the bill, said that after years of budget cuts and eliminating line item after line item, said he could no longer go home and feel good explaining the myriad cuts he's made to the state budget while defending retaining annual expenses like the death penalty, which costs the state roughly $1 million a year.

    "Regardless of my personal thoughts -- my religion doesn't believe in the right to kill people -- that's not enough for me," he said.

    Opponents of the bill, meanwhile, argued retaining the death penalty would allow the justice system to offer closure to victims of the most heinous crimes, and could be used as a tool to coerce confessions from the state's worst perpetrators. Others, simply voted by feeling, Boner said.

    "A lot of [the no votes] had a deep conviction that someone can do something so heinous that they have to die," said Boner. "There's no amount of reason or facts that you can give them that will change that. I also think there's a generational gap, that folks who were from a time where the death penalty were used more often are more accustomed to it. It might have worked 30, 40 or 50 years ago, but that's just not the case anymore."

    Several senators had other reasons for voting against the bill. Sen. Anthony Bouchard, R-Cheyenne, said that while the death penalty could be used as an effective tool, it was also a means to keep the state's justice system from turning into the type seen in other states. He then noted that states like California -- in some cases -- have allowed inmates to undergo gender reassignment surgery.

    "I think we're becoming a lot like other states, and we have something to defend," he said.

    Sen. Lynn Hutchings, R-Cheyenne, argued that without the death penalty, Jesus Christ would not have been able to die to absolve the sins of mankind, and therefore capitol punishment should be maintained.

    "The greatest man who ever lived died via the death penalty for you and me," she said. "I'm grateful to him for our future hope because of this. Governments were instituted to execute justice. If it wasn't for Jesus dying via the death penalty, we would all have no hope."

    Wyoming has not executed a prisoner since 1992.

    https://trib.com/news/state-and-regi...1036c4478.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  8. #28
    Moderator Ryan's Avatar
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    Wyoming lawmaker announces new death-penalty repeal attempt

    CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A conservative group and the American Civil Liberties Union both support a state lawmaker’s plan to try again to repeal the death penalty in Wyoming.

    Republican state Rep. Jared Olsen, of Cheyenne, will sponsor a death-penalty repeal bill during a four-week legislative session that begins Feb. 10, he said Thursday.

    Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty, a group with Montana roots that now has an office in Wyoming, supports the effort alongside the ACLU, the Casper Star-Tribune reports.

    “Democratic or Republican, liberal or conservative, this isn’t a political issue — it’s a people issue. It’s a moral issue,” Olsen said.

    Lawmakers have introduced or drafted death-penalty repeal bills for several years in a row. Last year, a repeal bill got far more support than usual, clearing the House and several committee votes before defeat in the Senate.

    Opponents argued capital punishment deters crime and encourages those facing the death penalty to cooperate with investigators. Repeal proponents pointed to the high cost of death-penalty cases and dozens of death-row inmates nationwide that have been exonerated.

    A repeal attempt would face tougher odds in the upcoming session dedicated mainly to the state budget. In even-numbered years, bills unrelated to the budget require a two-thirds vote for introduction.

    Wyoming’s last execution was in 1992. A judge overturned the death sentence against the state’s only death-row inmate, Dale Wayne Eaton, in 2014.

    Eaton was convicted in 2004 of kidnapping, raping and killing a Montana woman in 1988.

    A federal appeals court ruled in 2019 prosecutors could try again to pursue the death penalty against Eaton. They have not done so yet.

    https://buckrail.com/wyoming-lawmake...epeal-attempt/
    "How do you get drunk on death row?" - Werner Herzog

    "When we get fruit, we get the juice and water. I ferment for a week! It tastes like chalk, it's nasty" - Blaine Keith Milam #999558 Texas Death Row

  9. #29
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Gov. Gordon considers moratorium on death penalty

    JACKSON, Wyo. — If Wyoming ever does away with the death penalty it may not be emotions that carry the vote. It will more likely be a matter of dollars and sense.

    Facing a $1.5 billion revenue deficit, Governor Mark Gordon told members of the Joint Appropriations Committee Monday morning that he was looking at a variety of places to make cuts and save money including doing away with the death penalty, at least for now.

    “I am looking very seriously at a moratorium on the death penalty,” Gordon said. “Whatever I can do to forestall that as an option—it costs us around a million dollars every time that is brought up. These are just luxuries, luxuries that we will no longer be able to afford.”

    The statement was made in response to a question posed by a committee member and it did not escape the radar of groups closely watching capital punishment in Wyoming.

    Sabrina King, ACLU of Wyoming campaign consultant, said, “The death penalty is an expensive, ineffective and unjust government program. The money saved by repealing the death penalty in Wyoming and not trying capital cases would help solve the state’s budget shortfall this year and in years to come.”

    ACLU of Wyoming added, “As Wyoming faces a looming financial crisis due to a sharp downturn in oil markets and the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Mark Gordon is right to consider a moratorium on the death penalty. But the moratorium should not be temporary. Legislators should repeal the death penalty during the 2021 session.”

    State conservatives were also buoyed by the news.

    “We are encouraged by Governor Gordon’s thoughtful comments on the death penalty today. In considering a moratorium, he is showing he wants to prioritize economic recovery over a failed government program that has cost Wyoming millions of dollars without any real benefit,” said Kylie Taylor, of Wyoming Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty. “Movement away from the death penalty has become a Western value, with four western states instituting moratoria in the last decade. We know there is growing interest in the Legislature for ending the death penalty due to its high costs, the fact it does nothing to make us safer, and because of the risk of executing innocent people.”

    As some states move to abolish capital punishment, Wyoming has so far not budged on its stance, though recent votes are becoming closer. Wyoming currently has no prisoners on death row.

    Local state lawmakers Sen. Mike Gierau and Rep. Andy Schwartz both sit on the Joint Appropriations Committee.

    https://buckrail.com/gov-gordon-cons...death-penalty/
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  10. #30
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Neil's Avatar
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    Yep next one to bite the dust. In next year’s legislative session they will table the death penalty there. This idea that Republicans will be a resurgence for the death penalty is a mirage.

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