We’ve barely stopped to take a breath since the buildup to the vote in the House, but it’s critical that we do not stop working towards repeal during the upcoming days and weeks.

In the House vote, we came within a single vote of reaching the two-thirds super-majority required for a veto override. Among the 52 representatives not present or not voting, were many of our supporters, enough to get us to the magic number. No doubt you also heard that Gov. Sununu vowed again to veto the bill. Therefore, our strategy is two-fold at this moment:

1) Pressure Gov. Sununu to respect the will of our duly-elected representatives in the House and Senate, and either sign or allow SB 593 to pass into law. The most effective way to do this will be to call his office at 603-271-2121 and leave a message to that effect. Please mention that you are a New Hampshire resident. Alternatively, you can email him using this online form.

A second tactic related to this strategy is to continue sending in letters to the editor of your local and state newspapers to emphasize the level of public support for repeal that continues to exist and encouraign the Governor to sign the bill. Even if you have already sent a letter, we are now in new territory with both the Senate and House having passed the bill, and with Gov. Sununu’s newly repeated public statement about his opposition. You may use our form here: Write a Letter to the Editor.

The third tactic is to direct your tweets on this issue to him, just include @GovChrisSununu in your tweeting.

A fourth tactic is EJUSA’s online petition. This can be signed by anyone around the country, so it  should not substitute for New Hampshire residents reaching out with calls, letters, and emails.

2) We want to shore up support in the House by having you send a thank you letter to your representatives if they voted in favor of SB 593. Here is the list of the  representatives who voted for the bill: SB593 Yea Votes. If you’re not sure who your representatives are, you can look them up on this page.  Again, you may use our online form to write to your legislator.

Thank you!

After about a half hour of debate, the House voted 223-116 to repeal the death penalty today. That’s almost exactly the two-thirds vote we were aiming for. In the days ahead, we’ll be looking at the roll call to see who was absent and how many additional votes we might be able to gain for a possible veto override effort.

Many thanks to the 30+ NHCADP members who came out in the drizzly morning to hold signs, greet lawmakers, and hand out fact sheets, both inside and outside the building. It was great to see so many familiar and new faces. It shows the heart that stands behind our organizational efforts.

Thanks, also, to all of our members who wrote or called their Reps, and wrote letters to the editor. In a conservative-leaning legislature, your efforts very much helped us get to that vote tally.

Our job is not done. We need you to continue to write letters to newspapers over the next few weeks to encourage the governor to sign the bill and to argue for why NH needs to repeal this archaic law. Please use our form here to continue to write these letters.

News coverage:
WMUR
Concord Monitor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The NH House today 223-116 in favor of SB 593, a bill to repeal New Hampshire’s death penalty statute and replace it with the sentence of life in prison without parole. The measure would apply only to capital cases taking place after January 2019. The bill succeeded with broad support from Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians.

Last month, the NH Senate voted 14-10 in favor of the bill. This marks the first time in nearly 20 years – since Governor Jeanne Shaheen’s administration – that both bodies of the New Hampshire legislature have passed a death penalty repeal bill.

Among those taking part in the debate on the floor of the House today was Representative Richard O’Leary (D-Manchester), former Deputy Chief and 33-year veteran of the Manchester Police Department.

Speaking about his six adult children, among whom are two school teachers, a nurse, and a policeman, O’Leary asked, “If I’m a lawmaker or on a jury, how do I choose for which kind of victim the perpetrator should get death, and for which kind he shouldn’t?”  O’Leary argued that the state should not be making distinctions among categories of victims. “Every murder is heinous to the ones who lose a loved one,” he said.

During the floor debate, repeal advocates cited the exorbitant costs of death penalty cases, the possibility of executing an innocent person, the lack of evidence for its value in deterring  homicides, and the perspective of many murder victim family members that the death penalty does not serve their needs.

Speaking in favor of the bill, Representative Robert “Renny” Cushing (D-Hampton), whose father and brother-in-law were both murdered, said, “The death penalty does not do the one thing that family members of victims most want: it does not bring their loved ones back.”

Barbara Keshen, Chair of the NH Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NHCADP), said after the vote, “Today’s strong bi-partisan vote marks a watershed moment for the New Hampshire death penalty abolition movement. The overwhelming support for repeal demonstrates the growing consensus that New Hampshire can live without the death penalty. We encourage Governor Sununu to respect the will of the legislature and sign SB 593 into law.”

Gov. Sununu has publicly indicated that he would veto the bill. NHCADP representatives indicated they would work towards a veto override if that happens.

New Hampshire currently has one person on death row. No one has been executed in our state since 1939.