Home : Death Penalty : Legislative Developments

The death penalty in the United States is primarily governed by state law, not federal law. Although there is a federal death penalty, more than 98 percent of the men and women on death rows across the United States are incarcerated as a result of state laws. Therefore, the legislation that most directly affects who is sentenced to death in the United States, what appellate processes they have, and how and when they are executed, is legislation at the state level. This page monitors favorable and unfavorable legislative activity in the various states and at the federal level regarding the application of the death penalty and the processes that affect execution of death sentences.

Connecticut Bill to Abolish the Death Penalty Vetoed
On June 5, 2009, Governor Jodi Rell of Connecticut vetoed a bill that would have repealed the death penalty in the state. The bill passed in the House with a 90-56 vote and the Senate with a 19-17 vote.  According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Connecticut has ten people on death row currently and has had one execution since 1976.

Nebraska Lethal Injection Bill Becomes Law
On May 28, 2009, by a vote of 34-12, the Governor of Nebraska, Dave Heineman, signed a bill to establish lethal injection as the method of execution in Nebraska. In State v. Mata, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that electrocution, the sole method of execution authorized by the state, was cruel and unusual punishment.  The law gives Nebraska a method to carry out executions.

Virginia Triggerman Bill Vetoed by Governor
On March 30, 2009, Tim Kaine, the Governor of Virginia vetoed legislation that would have expanded the application of the death penalty in the state. The bill would have allowed a person who is an accomplice to capital murder to be death eligible along with the actual “triggerman.” The law would allow Virginia, which is already second to Texas in number of executions since 1977, to make more people eligible for capital punishment.

New Mexico Abolishes the Death Penalty
On July 1, 2009, the bill signed by Governor Bill Richardson to abolish New Mexico’s death penalty became law. Governor Richardson, who had previously supported the death penalty, called this “the most difficult decision in [his] political life,” according to the Washington Times. However, Richardson goes on to say, “the potential for ... execution of an innocent person stands as anathema to our very sensibilities as human beings." As it stands, the sentences of two men currently on death row will not be affected by the legislation. Since 1960, New Mexico has executed one person. The most severe sentence in New Mexico will now be life in prison without the possibility of parole.

New Jersey Abolishes the Death Penalty
On December 17, 2007, New Jersey lawmakers became the first state since 1965 to legislatively abolish the death penalty when a bill replacing capital punishment with life in prison without possibility of parole was signed by Governor Jon Corzine.

Bill to Abolish the Death Penalty in Colorado is Defeated
A Colorado bill proposed in 2009 which sought to abolish the death penalty and use the money to pursue cold cases was defeated. According to The Denver Post more than 500 victims’ family members supported the legislation. Proponents of the bill argued that the state could save two million dollars that could go to investigating unsolved cases. Furthermore, many legislators and victims family members found it to be “more important to find and prosecute killers still on the loose than to execute the ones already convicted.” The bill passed the house by one vote on April 20, 2009 but was ultimately defeated in the Senate.

Georgia Rejects Bill to Allow Death Sentence with Non-Unanimous Jury
On March 20, 2009 Georgia’s State Senate rejected a bill that would have allowed a death sentence with a non-unanimous jury. The bill would have allowed a sentence to be imposed by a judge if ten out of the twelve jurors voted for the death penalty. Prior to the bill reaching the Senate, it was approved in the House. Georgia has had 45 executions since 1976, according to Death Penalty Information Center, and currently has 109 people on death row.

ACLU Comments on Proposed Certification Process for State Capital Counsel Systems (08/24/2007)
The comments criticize the Justice Department's proposed new rules regarding the "fast-tracking" of death sentences.

Governor Vetoes Bills That Would Have Expanded the Death Penalty (03/26/2007)
RICHMOND, VA - Governor Tim Kaine today vetoed all five recently passed bills that would have expanded the death penalty in Virginia. Cumulatively, the five bills would have allowed capital murder charges to be brought against individuals who killed a judge, a jury member or a witness. The laws also eliminated the “triggerman rule,” which restricts the death penalty to those directly involved in a murder.

Senate Judiciary Committee Letter to Department of Justice Regarding Patriot Reauthorization (09/24/2007)
Comments in response to the proposed regulations to implement the Patriot Act Reauthorization of 2005, which recommends changes to the special expedited habeas corpus procedures in state death penalty cases.

Off-Site Resources for News and Information on Capital Punishment (01/25/2007)