CONNECTICUT (USA): LAWMAKERS VOTE TO REPEAL DEATH PENALTY

April 11, 2012: Death penalty repeal bill passes House in Connecticut. The House of Representatives approved Senate Bill 280 86 to 62 shortly before 11 p.m. today.
The Connecticut Senate passed the repeal bill on April 5. The bill now goes to the desk of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who has said he intends to sign the legislation. With Governor Malloy's signature, Connecticut will become the 17th U.S. state to abolish the death penalty.
“Going forward, we will have a system that allows us to put these people away for life, in living conditions none of us would want to experience,” Malloy, a former prosecutor, said. “Let’s throw away the key and have them spend the rest of their natural lives in jail.”
The debate lasted more than nine hours in the House and centered around the constitutionality of a law that would only apply to future criminals, as well as the fate of the 11 men currently on death row. (Sources: New Haven Register, ctnewsjunkie.com, 11/04/2012)