On April 25th, 2012, the governor of Connecticut signed a law to repeal the death penalty in the state. In the quiet of his office, behind closed doors, the governor scrawled his signature on the law in a moment that he described to the press as "a sober reflection." Instead of creating the normal fanfare, the governor wanted to spend time repealing this law in peaceful contemplation, because though it will save many criminals from execution, it represents the men and women in America who did not survive their death sentence. This bill was proposed previously in 2009, but the former Connecticut governor blocked the measure before it was invoked.
Connecticut is the seventeenth state to revoke capital punishment, joining the stance that New Jersey, New York, Illinois, and New Mexico have all taken in recent years. These states, as well as many others and the District of Columbia, have all declared that the capital punishment statute is unconstitutional. They replaced the death penalty with a life sentence in prison, without possibility of parole. While the repeal became effective immediately, it will not save the 11 men who are waiting on Death Row at present. The law will only apply to future cases. Still, some criminal defense attorneys are trying to manipulate the law in order to save their clients who are awaiting a death sentence in the state.
Earlier this month the state Senate approved the bill, and the House of Representatives passed it by a vote of 86 to 63. When the governor signed this repeal, he allowed about 30 people to enter his office as witnesses. They included family members of murder victims, clergy and anti-death penalty activists, and some other political authorities. One anti-death-penalty activist says that many were in tears when governor signed the documents, and everyone was very thankful. Activists hope that Connecticut's bold stance on the death penalty will spark a broader abolition and inspire more states to do away with capital punishment.
Other states are observing the 17 anti-capital-punishment states and many are thinking about repealing their own state law. Oregon, for example, has moved towards this measure. The Oregon governor told the Chicago Tribune that if it was merely up to him, he would halt all criminal executions in the state on his watch. In California, a repeal measure is set to appear on the next voting ballot. If this statute were to come through in California, it would affect nearly a quarter of all death-row criminals, since they all reside in this state.
Connecticut has executed two criminals in the state's history, despite the fact that 15 offenders have been placed on death row. Only one of those convicts was executed after the death penalty was reinstated in the United States in 1976. In 1972, America put a moratorium on the death penalty. This was lifted in 1976, after the federal government declared the practice constitutional. In both cases, the criminals volunteered for the death sentence. By his own admission, the Connecticut governor says that these capital punishment cases are too costly and complicated.
He decided that the only way to make sure that innocents are not killed is to do away with the death penalty. He would never want to see this severe punishment imposed on someone who did not deserve it. The governor also determined that the law was "unworkable." In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, he said that the taxpayers pay for appeal after appeal and the criminals become public figures, receiving attention that they didn't deserve. Admittedly, he says that the 11 men currently on death row will probably die of old age before they are put to death by executioners.
