The Texas Legislature does not return in regular session until January 2011, following this year's November general election. Many states, however, have regular sessions. There is fresh news from Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas.
"Coalition calls for execution moratorium," is the title of Brennan David's article for the Columbia Daily Tribune.
A local grass-roots organization wants Columbia residents to know its call for a death penalty study and moratorium will continue this session of the Missouri General Assembly.
Missourians for an Alternative to the Death Penalty rolled out its campaign today at the start of the 2010 legislative session with a news conference at First Baptist Church, 1112 E. Broadway. Organizers said more than 100 Columbia-area businesses, houses of worship and organizations have endorsed resolutions calling for a state study of the death penalty with a moratorium on executions while the study takes place.
Supporting the campaign are 23 houses of worship, 52 businesses and 28 groups and organizations.
“This signals and shows the legislature that the general public supports this type of policy,” said Jeff Stack, convener of Columbia’s chapter.
Last session, 40 percent of House members joined Bill Deeken, R-Jefferson City, in co-sponsoring House Bill 484, which would have satisfied the organization’s goal. A study measure was passed in the House by a margin of 127-31, but little support could be found for an execution moratorium. Deeken’s rewritten bill was debated on the Senate floor but was never voted on for final passage.
Deeken, who was not present for today’s news conference, will again be the lead sponsor on a similar bill that is yet to be filed, Stack said.
The Columbian Missourian reports, "Group seeking moratorium, study of death penalty adds local organizations." It's written by Gregg Johnson.
Several local death penalty opponents and a California activist announced Wednesday that a coalition of local organizations and businesses have joined the Moratorium Now! campaign. The campaign calls for a stop to the death penalty in Missouri while it's given a thorough study.
The panel of five people spoke on behalf of Moratorium Now! at a news conference at the First Baptist Church.
A total of 105 Columbia entities — including organizations, businesses and houses of worship — have banded together to push for a death penalty study for Missouri and a discussion about the legal and moral merits of execution.
"Sixty-seven people have been executed since the death penalty was reinstituted in Missouri," said Jeff Stack, who was representing the local chapter of Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. "It's the fifth most executed by any U.S. state. Since then three men have been exonerated after their sentences have been carried out."
In August, House Bill 484 sought to establish a commission on the death penalty placing a moratorium on all executions until Jan. 1, 2012. The bill, which was sponsored by Rep. Bill Deeken, R-Jefferson City, and co-sponsored by Reps. Chris Kelly and Stephen Webber, both D-Columbia, did not pass.
From Nebraska, the Omaha World-Herald reported, "Legislative storm more than snow," yesterday. It was written by Martha Stoddard .
The Nebraska Legislature convened this morning in the midst of yet another winter storm.
And:
Speaker of the Legislature Mike Flood of Norfolk said it's too early to predict whether the session can wrap up early. It is set to end April 14, after 60 working days.
Speculation about cutting the session short has been fueled by the state's budget woes, which are expected to limit the number of bills introduced.
But if lawmakers get a chilly forecast of state tax revenues in February, it could force them to work long hours to finish by April. And other bills could spark days of debate.
“It has the potential to be a very difficult session,” Flood said. “We'll work as efficiently as possible on the bills that we have.”
Lawmakers can consider bills left over from the 2009 session, as well as new bills introduced this year.
Not quite half the bills introduced last year remain alive, including five awaiting a final vote. The price tags on those five, which kept them from passing last year, could be an even bigger obstacle now.
Sen. Galen Hadley of Kearney, who introduced one of the five bills, said he plans to keep trying to work something out. His proposal would provide a sales tax exemption for some nonprofit health care providers.
Among the carryover bills are ones to repeal the death penalty, require the collection of DNA from additional people and allow nurse practitioners to oversee tuberculosis care.
Flood said he plans to start debate on carryover bills Monday. Gov. Dave Heineman will unveil his proposals for the session, including any budget recommendations, in his state of the state address Jan. 14.
Public hearings will start Jan. 19. Senators can introduce new bills through Jan. 21.
Kansas' KSN-TV has a profile of State Senator Carolynn Glenn, "Senator looks to repeal KS death penalty."
Could death row be boarded up to save some cash? That’s what some believe should be done to help with the state’s budget concerns.
With lawmakers in Topeka struggling to make ends meet one local state senator wants to repeal the death penalty in an effort to cut costs. Republican Senator Carolyn McGinn says capital punishment doesn’t deter crime and costs the state thousands of dollars that should be used for something else.
Jonathan Carr, Reginald Carr, Justin Thurber and Gavin Scott are just a few that have been sentenced to die for their crimes in Kansas. But if McGinn gets her way, no other inmate will join them on Kansas’ death row.
“We’re spending a lot of money on 10 individuals when we could take that money and maybe help hundreds of thousands of individuals with these other programs,” McGinn said.
McGinn is introducing the legislation again this year after it failed last year. She says the death penalty doesn’t work, it costs too much money and that money should be spent on programs that face drastic cuts because of Kansas’ budget crunch.
“This is a very emotional topic,” she said. “A lot of times people say they want to be tough on crime and in reality stats will show states that have the death penalty actually have higher crime rates.”
Earlier coverage from these states at the links; Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska
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