BOSTON — The killing of a Massachusetts police officer has some Republicans calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty for the murder of law enforcement officers.
Recent attempts to restore capital punishment in the state have faltered, most recently after the killing of another police officer two years ago and in 2013, after the Boston Marathon bombing.
The death of Sean Gannon, a Yarmouth K-9 officer who was shot in the head while serving an arrest warrant April 12, has again raised the issue.
On Tuesday, the Massachusetts Republican Party sent out a message on Twitter reaffirming the party’s backing of capital punishment for criminals who kill police officers.
An aide to Republican Gov. Charlie Baker said he also “supports the death penalty for the offense of killing a police officer.” Baker on Friday signed an overhaul of the state’s criminal justice system that imposed a new mandatory minimum for assault and battery on a police officer causing serious injury.
But there seems little appetite in the Legislature – controlled overwhelmingly by Democrats – to debate the death penalty again.
“I am personally opposed to the death penalty and I do not foresee Massachusetts reinstating capital punishment,” Senate President Harriette Chandler, a Worcester Democrat, said Tuesday.
A bill that would reinstitute capital punishment has just two sponsors – one Democrat and one Republican.
Brian Kyes, president of the Massachusetts Major City Chiefs of Police Association, said his “knee-jerk” reaction would be to support the death penalty as a potential deterrent to acts such as the killing of Gannon. But he added members of his group would wait until the funeral to discuss possible legislation, including the death penalty.
Massachusetts last executed someone in 1947. In 1984 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a death penalty law approved by voters was unconstitutional.
In recent decades, there have been several failed efforts to reinstitute capital punishment.
In 2013, lawmakers debated but ultimately shelved a proposal to reinstate the punishment after the deadly Boston Marathon bombings. Among those killed was Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer Sean Collier, who was shot during a confrontation with bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
In 2016, Auburn Officer Ronald Tarentino Jr. was shot and killed during a traffic stop by a man with a lengthy criminal record. After the killing, Baker said he would support the death penalty for those who take the lives of police officers, but the law remained unchanged.
The closest the Legislature has come to reinstating capital punishment was in 1997 following the abduction and murder of 10-year-old Jeffrey Curley.
A death penalty bill filed in the wake of Curley’s murder failed after a single lawmaker switched his vote during reconsideration.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.