St. Louis' Riverfront Times reports, "Death Penalty Repeal in Missouri: Senator Gina Walsh Says Capital Punishment is Not Pro-Life." It's written by Sam Levin.
State Senator Gina Walsh says she is well aware that there will likely be opposition to her controversial proposal to repeal the death penalty in Missouri -- but that's not stopping her from pushing forward."My constituency probably won't like it," she tells Daily RFT. "But this is something I support...and I thought it was time to stop being wishy-washy about it. If one person dies because they made a mistake through the death penalty, that is one person too many."
But just how steep of an opposition will Walsh, a St. Louis County Democrat, face?
Senate Bill 247, which has been heard in the Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee of the Senate, mirrors repeal bills across the country, where five states over the last five years have abolished the penalty. There are 33 states, including Missouri, that still have capital punishment -- though about a dozen have not executed anyone in recent years.
And:
"The application of the death penalty is so arbitrary -- and there are so many unforeseen problems," says Walsh.
In Missouri, Walsh notes, 68 people have been executed since 1976 -- and 2 since 2005. She also points out that the state ranks fifth in terms of the number of prisoners executed.
Earlier coverage from Missouri begins at the link.
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