In 1998, a bill to restore the death penalty was defeated...

In 1998, a bill to restore the death penalty was defeated by one vote. On 29 March, after nearly 7 hours of debate, a bill recommended by Governor Paul Cellucci to reinstate capital punishment for 16 types of capital offenses was defeated by a vote of 80-73 in the House of Representatives. Cellucci's proposal allowed for the death penalty in first-degree murder cases involving more than a dozen aggravating circumstances, including the killing of a child or murder by an inmate. As the debate began in the House, Cellucci appeared with more than 100 police officers and several relatives of murder victims on the front steps. While police and victims' relatives made fiery calls for the death penalty on the steps, several dozen people demonstrated against the death penalty at the bottom of the steps.