By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.orgF

Executions could make a comeback in the Granite State because of several bills introduced in the legislature aimed at overturning the 2019 death penalty repeal.

Rep. Seth King, R-Whitefield, testified before the House Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee on his proposal, HB 1749. King’s bill would allow for people convicted of capital murder, first degree murder or second degree murder to be sentenced to death. When New Hampshire did have a death penalty, it was only an option for people convicted of capital murder.

King told the committee he had been opposed to state executions until recently.

“I was against the death penalty mainly because I didn’t trust the state enough to, you know, convict people fairly, but as I’ve gotten older, I now see, again, the wisdom of it,” King said.

While not part of his bill, King told the committee he favors cutting down the time people on death row have to appeal their convictions, and using firing squads to execute them.

“I think the most humane way to execute somebody is firing squad,” King said. “It may seem a little archaic, but sounds a lot better to me than lethal injection or the gas chamber, and definitely better than the electric chair, or even hanging for that matter.”

King tried to justify reintroducing the death penalty to New Hampshire by pointing to two recent, gruesome murders that took place outside the Granite State. One of these murders was in Great Britain and the other in North Carolina. Both of the cases King cited involved Black men murdering White women.

“I don’t know whether or not we should have the death penalty, but what I do know – and what cannot be argued – is that I, Seth King, want the death penalty,” King said. “I want the death penalty for these people.”

But Paul Hildwin told the committee it’s a mistake to think the death penalty is a way to serve justice. Hildwin, a wrongfully convicted Florida man who was on death row for three decades, spoke about the devastating impact his conviction had, even after he was exonerated.

“I lost everything,” he said. “I lost my family, I lost my health. I went in when I was 24. I came out when I was 60.”

Winnie Ye, Innocence Project State Policy Advocate, said too many innocent people have been executed for crimes they did not commit, and that reintroducing the death penalty to New Hampshire is unacceptable. According to Ye, since 1973, 202 people sentenced to death have been proved to be innocent. The true figure of innocent people sentenced to die is likely higher, she said.

“[The exonerated] are individuals who are able to overcome substantial procedural barriers and a very high burden in order to receive relief,” Ye said. “Not only did they prove their innocence, but they typically had the impossible task of identifying the true culprit, all while being behind bars. At the same time, we know that there are many more individuals with compelling evidence of innocence who have been executed by the state.”

The financial analysis for King’s bill shows it would cost $3.5 million per case to execute a New Hampshire convict. Rep. Albert “Buzz” Scherr, D-Portsmouth, who is also a UNH Law professor, pointed out that’s far more expensive than keeping someone in prison for 40 years.

Roman Catholic Bishop Peter Libasci told the committee that New Hampshire should instead invest its time and money to help people in need.

“As our state is trying to desperately balance its budget while addressing the human needs of affordable housing, proper education and the escalating costs affecting medical care, the redirected funds aimed at ending a life would be better spent on those needs,” Libasci said.

Episcopal Bishop Rob Hirschfeld told the committee bringing back the death penalty would be a moral failure that does nothing to keep people safe.

“I also note that there’s no evidence that the death penalty, long left unpracticed in New Hampshire, will aid in the support or protection of our valued police or public safety officials,” Hirschfeld said. “In fact, it will merely corrupt the moral and spiritual health of our state and our society. In addition, incurring the cost of reestablishing capital punishment in our beloved state is a terrible squandering of our resources, both moral and financial.”

King’s bill, 1749, was one of three death penalty bills scheduled for a hearing Wednesday, but confusion over procedures and time limits meant that King’s bill stood alone, and bills 1413 and 1737 will now be heard next week.

Initially, Committee Vice Chair Rep. Jennifer Rhodes, R-Winchester, said Wednesday’s hearing had to end at 5 p.m. due to time constraints, and 1413 and 1737 would be put on next Friday’s agenda. Then, a short time later she said the two bills could be heard today despite the late hour. However, after a call from the House Clerk’s Office, Rhodes said the bills would indeed be put on next Friday’s schedule.

The committee is set to begin its Thursday hearing with HB 1730, another death penalty revival bill.

New Hampshire repealed the death penalty in 2019 with overwhelming bipartisan support. In 1939, Howard Long became the last person executed in New Hampshire following his 1937 conviction for murdering a 10-year-old boy.

The death penalty went unused until Michael Addison was sentenced to die for the 2006 murder of Manchester Police Officer Michael Briggs. Addison is New Hampshire’s only death row inmate and he is currently appealing his sentence.