Nixon, Hulshof Oppose Death Penalty Moratorium

**UPDATE: STEELMAN OPPOSED AS WELL**

Widow of Ozarks Murder Victim Signs On
Rep. Deeken: "A Lot of People Agree . . . But Don't Want to Be Public"
Rep. Lipke: "Safeguards already in place."
LAMPE A LOCAL SPONSOR

The three leading candidates for Missouri Governor oppose a state House bill that would halt executions for two years to study potential flaws in the state's death penalty system.

For the last two years, a federal judge has put the death penalty in Missouri on hold over concerns involving lethal injection. Now, some state lawmakers want to effectively extend that moratorium. Supporters of the legislation testified in Jefferson City at a House committee hearing Tuesday. A widow of a man who was murdered in Christian County back in 2005 told the committee "she's still on the fence" about the death penalty. But Ginger Masters also said she did not believe "the state should be in the business of killing its citizens, in most cases."

You can watch my KY3 News @ 10 report HERE.

A spokesperson for Democratic candidate for Governor Jay Nixon tells the KY3 Political Notebook that Attorney General Jay Nixon is against any moratorium.

"He believes juries should have the option to sentence the harshest punishment for the most heinous crimes in a fair and just manner," said Nixon spokesman Oren Shur.

"There are brutal killers who have been sitting on death row in Missouri for years, and meanwhile, the families of their victims have not received the justice and closure they deserve. We must do everything to ensure that the death penalty is carried out in a fair and just manner, but we should not keep the victims’ families from getting that closure," Shur added.

Republican Kenny Hulshof's campaign for Governor echoed Nixon's opinion of the bill. "Kenny doesn't believe any moratorium is necessary," said Hulshof spokesperson Scott Baker. "He believes the justice system works."

***A spokesman for Sarah Steelman said the State Treasurer also opposes the moratorium bill. "She's for the death penalty and believes there shouldn't be a moratorium," said Steelman spokesman Doug Gaston. "She's not opposed to any review, she just opposes supsending it while its being reviewed," Gaston said.

House Bill 1870 is publicly backed by 58 House lawmakers, including 14 Republicans and 44 Democrats. Springfield Rep. Sara Lampe is a co-sponsor of the bill.

Bill sponsor Rep. Bill Deeken said he knows that more lawmakers privately agree with the cause, but don't want to publicly sign on to the bill. "It's an election year . . . and they're afraid it will slam them," Rep. Deeken said.

Deeken, who supports the death penalty, said he's just pushing this legislation study potential problems with the way executions are determined and administered in Missouri.

Republican Rep. Scott Lipke said he's worried the bill is written with pre-conceived notions against the death penalty. "If its that egregious, that heinous of a crime . . . there are some people deserving of death," Lipke said in an interview after the hearing. He said he would vote against the bill in its current form.

Specifically, House Bill 1870 would place a moratorium on all executions until January 2012. It would establish a 10-member bipartisan commission that would be tasked with making recommendations for changes to laws and court rules.

The commission would study if defendants who are sentenced to death "are in fact guilty," whether "race plays an impermissible role" and if prosecutors around the state seek the death penalty using similar criteria.

No vote was taken on the bill Tuesday.