USA - Delaware. Bill to abolish Delaware's death penalty failed to clear the House.

A bill that would abolish Delaware's death penalty has failed to clear the state House. An effort to abolish Delaware's death penalty failed in the state House today, but proponents of the measure say they will continue fighting until capital punishment is outlawed. The legislation, which would not apply to inmates currently on death row, received 16 votes, short of the 21 needed for passage. 23 lawmakers voted against the bill, which Democratic Gov. Jack Markell has said he would sign. Judiciary Committee members voted 6-5 last May not to send the bill to the full House after it passed the Senate. The bill languished in the committee until last week, when the bill got a second chance after House leadership unexpectedly released it for a full vote. Rep. Larry Mitchell, D-Elsmere, chairs the House Judiciary Committee and opposes the bill. Mitchell, a former Police officer, released the bill from his committee even though he opposes it, saying the issue deserved a hearing in the full House. Gov. Jack Markell has said he would sign the bill into law if it passed. Delaware has 13 inmates on death row but does not have the necessary chemicals to carry out an execution if one were ordered.