Senate Bill 40, which eliminates the Death Penalty in Delaware going forward (those already convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death will not have their sentences reduced), finds itself on the House floor today for debate and perhaps a vote. The Bill has had a long and winding road to get today. This is the second session of the General Assembly in which a death penalty bill has been considered. This time, like the last time, the Senate passed the bill by the slimmest of margins, 11-9. Last time, the bill was buried in Rebecca Walker’s House Judiciary Committee. This time, the bill was actually debated in Larry Mitchell’s House Judiciary Committee. But last spring, the bill failed to clear the committee.
But all hope was not lost. Rep. Sean Lynn openly stated on multiple occasions that he would petition the bill out of committee so that it could be considered on the floor of the House. To do that he would need the votes of a majority of the House. But it turned out was not necessary, as House Speaker Schwartzkopf and Rep. Mitchell agreed to release the bill and place it on the agenda for debate.
There are two cynical theories as to why that happened. The optimistic cynical theory is that the bill was going to get petitioned out of the committee and passed, so Pete and Larry wanted to jump on that train to avoid humiliation, or at least get it done with as early in the session as possible. the pessimistic cynical theory is that they knew the bill was going to be defeated, so that is why they agreed to release it and vote on it.
Regardless, if you have not already, let your State Representative know how you feel about the death penalty. It may be your last chance.