Mass. Governor to File Death Penalty Bill

[gldstwmn]

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationwo...tion-headlines

BOSTON -- Hoping to bring capital punishment to Massachusetts, Gov. Mitt Romney is preparing to file a death penalty bill early next year that he says is so carefully written it will guarantee only the guilty are executed.

Based in part on the findings of a death penalty panel he appointed, the bill would limit capital punishment to the "worst of the worst" crimes including terrorism, the murder of police officers, murder involving torture and the killing of witnesses. It also would use evidence such as DNA testing to protect the innocent.

Romney wants his death penalty bill to be a model for other states.

"The weakness in the death penalty statutes in other states, of course, is the fear that you may execute someone who is innocent. We remove that possibility," Romney said.

Massachusetts is one of a dozen states without capital punishment. The bill fulfills one of the Republican governor's key campaign pledges, but faces a skeptical Democrat-controlled state Legislature.

"I don't believe it's possible to be 100 percent certain no matter what you do. Humans are fallible," said state Rep. Elizabeth Malia, a Democrat.

Rep. Michael Festa, a Democrat, said Romney should focus on crimefighting tactics that work, like a proposal to support community-based drug treatment programs. A member of the Criminal Justice Committee, he said he hopes Romney's death penalty bill makes it to the floor of the House for a vote -- so it can be defeated.

"I think we should stand up as lawmakers and say we don't want this in our state," he said.

Romney said he based the bill in large part on the recommendations of the death penalty panel he appointed.

The report called for creation of an independent committee to review all scientific evidence in a case. It proposes giving defendants in capital cases better lawyers and the opportunity to face two juries, one for the trial, and if convicted, a separate one for sentencing.

It also suggests doing away with the legal standard of guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt" in a death penalty case, and replacing it with a finding of "no doubt."

Even Romney concedes that it might take a horrific crime, like the 1997 murder of 10-year-old Jeffrey Curley, to rally support for the bill.

Curley was abducted from a Cambridge street and killed by two men who later received life sentences. Public outrage fueled calls for a death penalty bill that passed easily in the state Senate; it was defeated by a single vote in the House. Since then the margin has grown in the House, which defeated a death penalty bill two years later, 80-73.

[strandinthewind]

I do not think Mass. will pass this - but given the tenor of the times - who knows. Personally, I think this is the payback for "allowing" gay marriage to happen. Interestingly, I wonder if the Roman Catholic Church will condemn him as strongly as it condemned the gay marriage supporters. After all, the RCC views BOTH as a sin

[Hawkeye]

way to go governor of Massachusetts

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

way to go governor of Massachusetts

I thought it was especially generous of him to kill them only if they're guilty. /sarcasm

[GateandGarden]

Originally Posted by gldstwmn

I thought it was especially generous of him to kill them only if they're guilty. /sarcasm

Yep, I'm with you.

[tynan88]

IMO the death penalty is wrong in any case, sorry mayb that is just my background but I don't think it's appropriate.

Tynan

[dissention]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

I do not think Mass. will pass this - but given the tenor of the times - who knows. Personally, I think this is the payback for "allowing" gay marriage to happen. Interestingly, I wonder if the Roman Catholic Church will condemn him as strongly as it condemned the gay marriage supporters. After all, the RCC views BOTH as a sin

It will NEVER happen. He's been trying to do this since he was elected and he gets laughed down every time. This is nothing new. When he first came up with this bull**** "study" where it could be proven that only the guilty would be executed, he was the laughing stock of the whole state. One of our local papers even crowned him the "Weasel of the Week" and he's been titled that almost every week since.

Cellucci tried to get death penalty support when the whole NAMBLA/Curley rape-murder-kidnapping thing happened and even then he failed miserably. Romney is talking out of his ass, but that's nothing new. He's a f*cking Mormon from Utah.

IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by dissention

It will NEVER happen. He's been trying to do this since he was elected and he gets laughed down every time. This is nothing new. When he first came up with this bull**** "study" where it could be proven that only the guilty would be executed, he was the laughing stock of the whole state. One of our local papers even crowned him the "Weasel of the Week" and he's been titled that almost every week since.

Cellucci tried to get death penalty support when the whole NAMBLA/Curley rape-murder-kidnapping thing happened and even then he failed miserably. Romney is talking out of his ass, but that's nothing new. He's a f*cking Mormon from Utah.

IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN.

Why the Foooooooooook are you not here with me for the Bonne Ann Fete