Death Penalty Repeal Bill Fails In Wyoming House
A bill to repeal Wyoming's death penalty failed an introductory vote in the Wyoming House of Representatives on Wednesday and is apparently dead for this session.
Even though a majority of the House voted in favor of the introduction of House Bill 166 by a 37-23 vote, that margin was short of the 2/3 majority needed to consider a non-budget bill during a budget session.
Supporters of the legislation such as Sabrina King of the Wyoming ACLU expressed disappointment but said they will try again to repeal the death penalty in future sessions of the legislature.
Death penalty supporters say the current law is a valuable tool for prosecutors and argue that the death penalty is the only appropriate punishment for some, especially heinous crimes.
Opponents of the death penalty say keeping it on the books is expensive and that it is almost never used in Wyoming.
Only one person has been put to death in Wyoming since 1965, Mark Hopkinson in 1992.