"Mont Vernon legislators: Home invasion murderers deserve death penalty," by Tom Fahey is in the New Hampshire Union Leader.
Two Mont Vernon lawmakers want to expand the state's death penalty law to include murders during home invasions.
Their town was the scene of the shocking murder on Oct. 4 of 42-year-old Kimberly Cates. Four teenagers have been charged in connection with the home invasion in which police say Cates was killed in a machete attack that left her 11-year-old daughter seriously injured.
Prosecutors say the teens targeted the home at random, with a plan to kill anyone inside. Two face first-degree murder charges.
Rep. William O'Brien and Rep. Robert Mead, both Republicans, are asking that their bill be called the Kimberly L. Cates Law. They have asked the House Rules Committee to let them bring forward their proposed bill, even though the deadline for new legislation has passed. The two also hope to have a bill introduced in the Senate, which is still accepting new legislation
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If the law were changed, the new standards would not apply to the teens charged in the Mont Vernon murder.
A year-long study of the death penalty is just getting organized in the Legislature. That study could produce recommendations to expand or eliminate the death penalty. O'Brien said he expects some resistance while the full study is under way, but he will push for passage when lawmakers return in January.
The Boston Globe carries the AP report, "NH bill to make home raid killings capital crime," written by Norma Love.
Under O'Brien's bill, prosecutors would have to prove home invaders entered with the specific intent to kill the occupants of the house for the crime to be punishable by the death penalty.
New Hampshire's death penalty law has more restrictions than any state that allows capital punishment. New Hampshire allows capital punishment for six types of crimes, including killing a police officer.
Last year, a man was sentenced to die for killing a police officer -- New Hampshire's first death sentence in 50 years. The state's last execution took place in 1939.
The U.S. Supreme Court halted executions in 1972 and lifted the ban four years later. Of the 36 states that allow capital punishment, only New Hampshire and Kansas have had no executions since 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C.
Earlier coverage from New Hampshire begins with this post.
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