01 December 2010 :

The New Hampshire Commission to Study the Death Penalty ended its works, and voted to retain N.H. law. The twenty-two member Commission, led by retired Judge Walter Murphy, tasked with studying the death penalty in New Hampshire, today voted 12-10 in favor of retention of the current law; reports from proponents and opponents will be made public on Dec. 1. The commission was created by the Legislature last year (see June 10, 2009) to re-evaluate the state's laws and beliefs about capital punishment; its members include legislators, lawyers, police officers and family members of victims. The commission was tasked with reviewing seven questions, including whether the death penalty meets societal standards, whether it is a crime deterrent, costs and more. The Commission is considering alternatives to capital punishment and the related question of whether the state spends more on a death penalty case than on a first-degree homicide case resulting in a life sentence. The state spent more than $5.3 million on two capital cases last year, and has not had an execution since 1939. The group has met monthly since last fall, hearing from proponents — but primarily opponents — of the death penalty, commission members said.