DOVER, Del. (AP) - Death penalty opponents in the General Assembly say they plan to reintroduce legislation to abolish capital punishment in Delaware.
The legislation, which was discussed at a news conference Wednesday, mirrors a bill that passed the Senate in 2013 by only one vote before dying in a House committee.
The legislation would remove execution as a possible punishment for first-degree murder, leaving life in prison without the possibility of parole as the only sentence for that crime.
The Wilmington News Journal reports that state Senator Karen Peterson says the top House Democrat is blocking efforts to repeal the death penalty.
She said that her colleagues should decide the issue and accused Speaker of House of Representatives Pete Schwartzkopf “a desk drawer veto.”
But Schwartzkopf last night denied that he was blocking the bill saying that he could support a measure that had exemptions for inmates convicted of killing members of law enforcement.
He also blamed Peterson for not compromising on the bill.
The 15 inmates currently on Delaware's death row would still be subject to execution.
Attorney General Matt Denn said through a spokesman that he is not opposed to capital punishment in appropriate cases, but that state law should be changed to require a unanimous jury recommendation before a judge can impose a death sentence.
