In July, opponents of capital punishment of "Missourians...

In July, opponents of capital punishment of "Missourians Working for Life" launched petitions in Missouri to force the nation's first referendum on abolishing the death penalty. They must collect at least 80,000 signatures by May 7, 2000. If successful, the referendum would take place in November 2000. The ballot language calls for Missouri to replace the death penalty with life imprisonment. Oregon activists are pushing for a similar referendum next year. When President Clinton nominated a Missouri Supreme Court judge, Ronnie White, for a federal judgeship, the nomination was strongly opposed by Senator Ashcroft of Missouri, who is running against Gov. Mel Carnahan for the U.S. Senate. Ashcroft claimed that White was too liberal towards capital defendants, even though White had supported the death sentence in the majority of cases he considered. White's nomination was defeated by the U.S. Senate with the vote falling completely along party lines.