07 March 2021 :
Senate Committee Passes Bill to Repeal State’s Death Penalty
A Wyoming state senate committee has advanced to the full Senate SF 150 to repeal the state’s death penalty. The all-Republican Senate Revenue Committee voted 4-1 on March 4, 2021 to pass Senate File 150. SF 150’s sponsor, Sen. Brian Boner (R – Douglas) expressed concerns about the cost of capital punishment and the risk of executing the innocent. Citing a fiscal note by the state Legislative Service Office, Boner told the committee that maintain the capability to try death penalty cases, even without an active capital trial or appeal, costs Wyoming in excess of $750,000 per year. A capital case that actually goes to trial, State Public Defender Diane Lozano testified, costs state taxpayers between $1 million and $2 million. Wyoming has executed only one person since capital punishment resumed in the United States in the 1970s and has not executed anyone since 1992. No one is currently on the state’s death row.
