On Wed, Jan. 14th, the New Hampshire House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee held a public hearing for three death penalty bills:
- HB1749, reinstating the death penalty for murder offenses.
- HB1413, reinstituting the death penalty in cases of capital murder
- HB1737, relative to reinstating the death penalty for certain offenses against minors under 13 years of age
All three will now be going before the House for a vote in early February. Another similar bill will be heard in the same committee today Thurs., Jan. 15th.
- HB1730, making all offenses against minors involving sexual penetration or contact felony-level offenses punishable by death
The public hearing was recorded with both support and opposition speeches given. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Manchester, Peter Libasci, spoke to the amount of money it takes to end someone’s life that could be spent on needs which would benefit the quality of life for people in the state. Recall that it costs roughly $1.1 million to put someone to death as opposed to $6-700,000 for life imprisonment.
Rep. Seth King – Whitefield, a Liberty Alliance member who scored a B+ for his votes last year, spoke of his “concern” for putting someone to death. Should be done humanely, such as a firing squad which sounded so much kinder to him then say, the electric chair or a lethal injection. I wonder how he would know that . . . There was no mention of public hanging, guillotine or that all time biblical favorite, public stoning.
The other bill which came before the same committee yesterday was HB 1793. This bill, proposed by fourteen Republican House and Senate members, will:
I. Prohibit public colleges and universities from regulating the possession or carrying of firearms and non-lethal weapons on campus.
II. Allow persons aggrieved by public colleges or universities that implement such regulations to sue such institutions for damages and injunctive relief.
Yes, you read that right, colleges can be sued if someone’s feelings are hurt because they aren’t allowed to bring a weapon on campus! Public testimony on this bill can be viewed here. This bill will also be coming to the House for a vote early next month.
So far there is overwhelming public opposition to these barbaric bills. For example, HB 1413 registered 637 against with only five in support; HB 1730 registered 575 against with only three in support; HB 1749 registered 667 against with only three supporting.
These are bills to keep an eye on as we move closer to a scheduled vote in the House.
“Hangman, Hangman, upon your face a smile. Tell me that I’m free to ride, ride for many a mile.” Led Zepplin “Gallows Pole”