Death Penalty Repeal Fails to Be Introduced in Session

With a list of over 350 pieces of legislation and a requirement of a ⅔ majority vote in favor to be introduced, many bills were going to die before they were even started. One such bill would have repealed the state law that allows for courts to sentence individuals to death when extreme injustices are committed. At least one local Representative was upset that House Bill 166 didn’t make the cut. Representative for House District 51 in Sheridan County Cyrus Western explained his feelings on repealing the death penalty.

The introductory vote missed the threshold narrowly with a vote of 37 for and 23 against. The sole nay vote on this legislation from the local delegation came from District 30 Representative Mark Jennings.