During the last session of the General Assembly, the Senate passed the repeal of the Death Penalty 11-10, only to have House Judiciary Committee Chair Rebecca Walker bottle up the legislation in her committee, refusing to even consider the legislation table the legislation in committee. This year, repeal again passed the Senate in a close bipartisan vote, 11-9. But this time, at least the bill will get a public hearing may get a vote a vote.
[DD: It seems my memory is faulty. Drew Volturo contacted me and said that the Repeal Bill did get a public hearing last session but it was tabled in committee due to lack of votes to release it.]
The bill’s House sponsor, Rep. Sean Lynn (D-Dover), is not optimistic about the bill’s chances in committee, but he has a Plan B ready.
[Lynn] said Tuesday afternoon that it will be a tight, 6-to-5 vote, one that he does not think will go in his favor. If the bill does not make it out of the House Judiciary Committee, Lynn said he is ready to take a procedural step to bypass the committee to ensure the bill has a full hearing on the House floor. Lynn would need 21 votes to get the matter on the floor via a suspension of the rules. He said he thinks he has those votes and enough for the bill to pass the full House.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s the only path that I have,” Lynn said. He is also a voting member of the committee.
“This is a human rights issue and really an egregious civil rights issue that needs to be remedied,” Lynn said. “I cannot idly sit by while a civil rights violation occurs that I can do something about.”
I recall that the Plan B route was discussed last year, but that route was not chosen. But Sean Lynn was not there last year, and I appreciate his earnestness and passion.
The death penalty hearing begins at 11 a.m. Wednesday morning and you can listen to it on the General Assembly website. Click on the link highlighted below in the screenshot at 11 a.m. once the House is convened.
