桃子视频Statement on New Hampshire Death Penalty Repeal

NH Legislature overrides Governor鈥檚 veto to repeal the death penalty

May 30, 2019 10:30 am

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CONCORD, N.H. 鈥� Today, it became official: New Hampshire is a state without the death penalty. This morning鈥檚 16-8 vote by the N.H. Senate overrode Gov. Sununu鈥檚 veto and repealed capital punishment in the Granite State. Now, New England has become the first full U.S. region to abolish capital punishment.

Devon Chaffee, executive director of the 桃子视频of New Hampshire, said, 鈥淭he death penalty is not right, it is not fair, it is not a deterrent, and now, it is not an option going forward in New Hampshire. Today is a tremendous victory for all who have worked for decades to repeal the death penalty. For years, the 桃子视频of New Hampshire has been involved in the effort to abolish capital punishment, and so we recognize this transformative day as one built on years of advocacy and grassroots mobilization. We celebrate with those who returned to the state house year after year to reach this day.鈥�

Jeanne Hruska, political director at the 桃子视频of New Hampshire, said, 鈥淭oday, state lawmakers made it clear: New Hampshire can live without the death penalty. Throughout this legislative session, an overwhelming majority of legislators put party and politics aside and voted their conscience, not once鈥攂ut twice, to abolish the death penalty. We are thankful to each and every Senator and Representative who withstood immense political pressure and came together for this historic success.鈥�

Cassandra Stubbs, director of the ACLU鈥檚 Capital Punishment Project, said, 鈥淭oday鈥檚 victory is a tremendous milestone for the national movement to end the death penalty in this country. This is the first time in the modern death penalty era in which an entire region of the country has rejected this racially biased, unfairly applied, error-prone punishment. New Hampshire鈥檚 vote reflects what we鈥檙e seeing around the country 鈥� bi-partisan legislators, and a wide range of organizations and individuals are coming together to repeal the death penalty, acknowledging that it has no place in modern democracy.鈥�