MEXICAN GOVERNOR CALLS FOR RESTORING DEATH PENALTY

a state governor from northern Mexico proposed restoring the death penalty to execute kidnappers who kill their victims. Gov. Humberto Moreira of Coahuila state sent the proposal to the state legislature amid public outrage over a recent series of bloody kidnap-killings. Because it involves changes to the federal Constitution, the bill would only serve as a recommendation for the federal congress to take up the issue. Any changes to the Constitution require a two-thirds majority in the federal Congress and approval by a majority of Mexico's 31 state legislatures. Mexico amended the Constitution to formally outlaw capital punishment in 2005, but abandoned it in practice decades ago.