USA - New Hampshire. Home invasion bill expands death penalty

Home invasion bill expands death penalty. A bill that would expand the state's death penalty to include individuals convicted of crimes like the October 2009 murder of Kimberly Cates in her home, has been sent to the House Clerk's Office in Concord. The Kimberly Cates Bill, which has yet to have a Legislative Service Request number assigned to it, was submitted Friday by House Speaker Rep. William O'Brien, R-Mont Vernon, and would appear to have the support of Gov. John Lynch, who said he is in favor of expanding the state's death penalty to include "heinous" crimes like the 2009 home invasion in Mont Vernon that left Cates, 42, dead and her daughter Jaimie severely injured. "We have the permission of the family, and it will be named the Kimberly Cates Bill" said O'Brien. Lynch Press Secretary Colin Manning confirmed that during a taping of the interview program "Close-Up" for WMUR-TV, Lynch said such an expansion was a move he could support, provided it followed a deliberative process involving talks with law enforcement, members of the Legislature and advocates of the move. "The governor has always been supportive of the death penalty in particularly heinous crimes," said Manning. "He is open to considering expansion of the death penalty in New Hampshire as it pertains to cases that involve home invasions, like what we saw in the Mont Vernon case. But he stresses that it should be done in a careful and thoughtful manner." New Hampshire currently allows for capital punishment in cases where defendants are accused of the murder of a judge or police officer, murders for hire, committing murder while serving a life sentence, and murders that occur during a drug sale, rape or kidnapping. Rep. O'Brien, the newly elected Speaker, had proposed similar legislation last year, but it was blocked in the then-Democratically controlled House on a 201-161 vote, and the Senate eventually voted to study it. (see March 10, 2010). In December, a 22-member state commission charged with looking into the pros and cons of abolishing the state's death penalty recommended against such a move, saying that the law as written was narrow enough to minimize the risk of people being sentenced to death in error. Renny Cushing, whose father was killed in 1988, founder and executive director of Murder Victims' Families for Human Rights, is a former Democratic state representative from Hampton who served on that state commission. He said he was upset by Lynch's comments. "I'm disappointed that the governor has taken this position," said Cushing. "We spent a year as a legislative committee conducting an in-depth examination of the death penalty law in New Hampshire, and we concluded against any expansion of it. I'm disappointed in his position, and that he would make it such a priority. There are other areas I'd like to see more of a focus placed on. I'd like to see the amount of funds directed by the state to the Victim's Compensation Fund increased." In November, Steven Spader, 19, was sentenced to life in prison plus another 76 years to life for breaking into 4 Trow Road in Mont Vernon on Oct. 4, 2009, and hacking to death 42-year-old mother Kimberly Cates. A second man, Christopher Gribble, 21, white, has admitted his involvement and is planning to use an insanity defense in his trial in February. Three others have pleaded guilty to lesser charges. If eventually signed into law, the newly expanded definition of the death penalty would not apply to the upcoming trials because the law would not be retroactive.