USA - Montana. The House Judiciary Committee voted 10-8 against Senate Bill 236, which would abolish the death penalty in the state.

The House Judiciary Committee voted 10-8 against Senate Bill 236, which would abolish the death penalty in the state. All nine Republicans on the evenly split committee voted against the bill, as did Democratic Rep. Arlene Becker. The panel's remaining 8 Democrats voted for the measure. The measure had been approved by the Republican-controlled Senate on Feb. 16 (see, and see also Feb. 10 and March 5), giving death penalty opponents hope that it could clear the Legislature this year. It would be difficult, almost impossible, for those pushing the ban to bring the bill back this year. Montana has executed 3 people since reinstatement of the death penalty in the 1970s. The most recent execution, of David Dawson, occurred on Aug. 11, 2006 (See).