With 84 inmates released from death rows because of...

With 84 inmates released from death rows because of innocence, growing doubts about how the death penalty is applied have prompted some state lawmakers to call for a moratorium on executions to study whether the system is working fairly. This year, 14 states introduced bills to abolish capital punishment or suspend the practice in order to study the state's capital punishment system. Connecticut, Illinois, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Indiana, Missouri, New Mexico, South Dakota, Kansas, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas, have all considered examining their death penalty systems and many have gone further than in the past. Nebraska's unicameral Legislature voted for a 2-year halt to executions, but the measure was vetoed by the governor in May. In Illinois, the House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution calling for a moratorium in March, and initiated public hearings around the state to study all aspects of the application of the death penalty. In addition, 6 non-death penalty states - Michigan, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa - soundly rejected bills that would have re-introduced capital punishment.