DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A key Iowa lawmaker says there’s not enough support to advance a House measure that seeks to reinstate the death penalty in Iowa.
The Des Moines Register reports that Public Safety Committee Chairman Rep. Clel Baudler, R-Greenfield, says there aren’t enough votes in the committee to advance the bill. The proposal would allow those convicted of first-degree murder to be executed by lethal injection. Iowa abolished the death penalty in 1965.
Baudler’s comments came after an emotional public hearing on the bill Thursday. More than a dozen people spoke, with most opposing the bill.
Baudler says he hopes a Senate version of the bill - which would apply the death penalty only to those convicted of kidnapping, sexually abusing and killing a minor - would find support in the House.
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Information from: The Des Moines Register, http://www.desmoinesregister.com
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