Mass. House Defeats Death Penalty Bill [View All]

Mass. House Defeats Death Penalty Bill
Massachusetts House Defeats Death Penalty Bill Put Forward by Gov. Mitt Romney
By STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press

BOSTON Nov 15, 2005 — House lawmakers on Tuesday soundly rejected a bill put forward by Gov. Mitt Romney to restore capital punishment in Massachusetts.

Romney had said the bill had strict safeguards and would seek the death penalty only in "very, very rare circumstances," such as terrorism, serial killing or murdering police officers or other public servants.

But critics said innocent people could still have been put to death.
The House defeated the bill on a 99-to-53 vote. The Senate has not debated the bill.

Romney, who is weighing a Republican presidential run in 2008, said his plan would have set the nation's highest standard of proof for ensuring that only the guilty were executed, using scientific evidence such as DNA and multiple checks and balances, including review by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
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http://abcnews.go.com/US/LegalCenter/wireStory?id=1316558