CONCORD, N.H. — The New Hampshire Senate has voted to repeal the state’s death penalty, sending the bill to Republican Gov. Chris Sununu.
Sununu has promised to veto the bill, as he did last year. But this time, the bill passed both the House and Senate with veto-proof majorities. The Senate vote Thursday was 17-6, with five Republicans joining 12 Democrats voting in favor of repeal.
The state hasn’t executed anyone since 1939, and the repeal bill would not apply retroactively to Michael Addison, who killed Manchester Police Officer Michael Briggs in 2006 and is the state’s only death row inmate. But supporters of capital punishment argue that courts will see it differently.
Last month, Briggs’ widow, Laura Briggs, spoke against a repeal in part because her son’s now working in law enforcement.
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