Utah nearly became the second state in as many years to repeal the death penalty. A measure to end their capital punishment program flew through a Senate committee, the Senate chamber, and a House committee, but it was never considered in the House of Representative because the Utah legislative session ended. The Huffington Post’s Kim Bellware covered the story. She wrote,
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Steve Urquhart (R) abandoned the effort before the midnight deadline. Urquhart told the Associated Press he was closing in on the number of votes needed, but that enough lawmakers remained unsure and a debate would have run down the clock on the legislature’s last day.
Bellware also included a statement from Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty, which read,
“Everywhere I go across the nation conservatives are re-thinking the death penalty because it is inconsistent with our values of safeguarding life and promoting fiscal responsibility and limited government,” Marc Hyden of the group Conservatives Concerned About The Death Penalty said Tuesday in a statement.
Hyden said conservative legislators are “driving the effort to repeal the death penalty” in red states like Nebraska, Kansas, Kentucky and Missouri.
Hyden said it was it “unmistakable” that an increasing number of conservative Republicans in Utah are “realizing that the death penalty is irrevocably broken.”
Following the strong support, the repeal bill’s sponsor believes that the proposal could return as early as next year.