Massachusetts death penalty legislation

2007 UPDATES

On November 7, 2007, House lawmakers again overwhelmingly rejected a bill to reinstate the death penalty by a vote of 46-110. The vote effectively killed any chance of the bill becoming law for the 2007 session. See the AP article here.

HB. 1511 was filed by Rep. Brad Jones, and was heard on October 23, 2007 before the Joint Committees on the Judiciary.

2005 UPDATES

On April 28, 2005, Governor Romney filed his long-awaited bill for the reinstatement of capital punishment, based on the recommendations of his blue-ribbon Governor's Council on Capital Punishment.

2005 Editorials

Worcester Telegram: 'No-doubt' doubts

Standard-Times: Romney's folly

The Republican: No guarantees in life

Berkshire Eagle: Don't be fooled

Boston Phoenix: Still wrong

Worcester Telegram: Hardly 'foolproof'

Berkshire Eagle: Mitt's morality play

Berkshire Eagle: Government by laws, not polls

The Republican: No-risk death penalty?

Brockton Enterprise: Romney goes national in bid for executions

The Pilot: Simply unnecessary

Mass. Citizens Against the Death Penalty: Press Release

ACLU of Mass.: Press Release

Find more editorials here

You can read the 2005 archives here:

An annotated version of the Governor's press release
Full text of the Governor's bill
MCADP-Fund's Talking Points

The bill, House 3834, was referred to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. Hearings were held on Thursday, July 14, 2005. The bill was defeated 53-100 in the House of Representatives on November 15, 2005. read more