The minimum age at which committing murder could be...

The minimum age at which committing murder could be punished by death would rise to 17 from the current 16, under a change in state law endorsed by the Missouri Senate. The legislation also would prohibit judges from imposing the death penalty when juries cannot agree unanimously on sentences. Both provisions were added with little debate to a larger crime bill approved earlier in the House. Missouri currently has one inmate on death row who was 16 at the time of his crime and another inmate who was 17. The amendment raising the minimum age to 17 was offered by Sen. Michael Gibbons, R-Kirkwood as a compromise with Sen. Ed Quick, D-Liberty, who argued for setting the minimum age at 18.