Death Penalty
DOVER, Del. (AP) - A bill to repeal Delaware's death penalty has stalled in a House committee after barely clearing the Senate.
Members of the Judiciary Committee took no action on the measure Wednesday after it appeared it would fail to win passage.
The measure barely cleared the Senate last month on an 11-10 vote after chief sponsor Sen. Karen Peterson removed a controversial provision that would have spared the lives of 17 inmates awaiting execution in Delaware.
Supporters of the bill, including many clerics, argue that the death penalty is morally wrong, racially discriminatory, ineffective as a deterrent to violent crime and far more costly than sentencing killers to life in prison without parole.
Attorney General Beau Biden and several other law enforcement officials have argued that Delaware's death penalty is fairly applied.
Guns
DOVER, Del. (AP) - A bill prohibiting people from carrying guns on school property in Delaware is headed for a vote in the state House.
The House Education Committee voted Wednesday to release the bill for consideration by the full House.
The measure bans the possession of firearms in schools and on school property, unless they are left in vehicles.
Supporters of the bill say it's a commonsense effort to improve school safety, even though it would not prevent someone bent on mayhem from shooting up a school.
Opponents said it makes no sense to require law-abiding citizens eligible to carry guns, either concealed or in the open, to leave them unattended in vehicles.
