Massachusetts Governor Files Death Penalty Bill
Read this Boston Globe article.
Governor Mitt Romney yesterday filed a long-awaited bill to reinstate the death penalty in Massachusetts for deadly acts of terrorism, killing sprees, murders involving torture, and the killing of law enforcement authoritiesThe bill, which Romney called ''a model for the nation" and the ''gold standard" for capital punishment legislation, draws entirely from the findings of a special commission that set out 10 recommendations last year. That panel sought to design a virtually ''foolproof" death penalty law by relying on verifiable science and tougher legal safeguards.
The bill lays out a set of hurdles for meting out capital punishment sentences, in an effort to neutralize problems that have led to dozens of death-row exonerations across the nation in recent years. The measure calls for verifiable scientific evidence such as DNA to sentence someone to death and a tougher standard of ''no doubt" of guilt for juries to sentence defendants, rather than a ''beyond a reasonable doubt" standard. It also calls for a pool of certified capital case lawyers to ensure proper representation for the indigent and allowing jurors to serve in the guilt phase of the trial who do not necessarily support the death penalty.
Posted by beth at 12:37 PM
