USA - Kansas. Senate Bill 375 to abolish the death penalty fails in Kansas Senate

Senate Bill 375 to abolish the death penalty fails in Kansas Senate. The Senate voted 20-20, one vote less than the 21-vote majority needed for passage of the bill. The vote likely kills the issue for the year. Of the 31 Republicans in the Senate, 12 voted for the repeal, and 19 voted against it. Since 1994 when capital punishment was re-instated in Kansas, 10 men have been sentenced to die, but no executions have occurred. Even if the bill had passed the Senate, House Speaker Mike O'Neal, a Hutchinson Republican, said it was unlikely the House would consider it. Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, helped craft the state's death penalty law when he was a legislator. That fact leads many lawmakers to believe he'd veto any attempt to repeal it. But Parkinson said yesterday he hadn't made a final decision on the issue. (See also 29/01/2010)