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Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iowa Senate bill would add death penalty for murder of law enforcement officer
Iowa lawmakers reconsidered the discussion Wednesday on whether or not the state should restore the death penalty for certain crimes. The bill, Senate File 320, that advanced out of a Senate subcommittee Wednesday would establish the death penalty for individuals who plead guilty or are found guilty of intentional first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer on duty. The death penalty was abolished in 1965 and has been an issue lawmakers have brought forward through legislation since it was removed, including the most recent bill during the last session. Jen Rathje, a legislative liaison with the Iowa Department of Corrections, said reviving the death penalty in the state would cost an estimated $3.45 million or more "to construct a structure that would be utilized to carry out the executions." She said the cost of a single execution would total an estimated $9,000. The death penalty would not apply to those under the age of 18 years old and individuals who have a mental illness or intellectual disability, the bill says. Sen. Scott Webster, R-Bettendorf, and Sen. David Rowley, R-Spirit Lake, voted to advance the bill. "This bill provides the option, an option, in all of the hurdles that we talked about today, and there's more hurdles actually to get there," Rowley said. "But to have that option of a death penalty in the event, this bill in this case, that a police officer is killed in the line of duty, not mandatory, but part of our justice system ... " Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, expressed sympathies to the families of law enforcement officers who have been killed but asked the other lawmakers in the room to not advance the death penalty bill. "One of the most chilling, unintentionally, one of the most chilling things I heard in this room was the cost to hire an executioner," Weiner said. "That just cut really deep." Tom Chapman, executive director of the Iowa Catholic Conference, said Iowa's Catholic bishops believe that even people who have committed crimes have the capacity to reform. "We do know there is a special need to offer support for the victims of violent crime. I think the state does this pretty well. We also have other organizations that are available to help families, but I think it's also true to say that the death penalty does not bring healing to some victim's families. It's not helpful for some, not everybody is the same," Chapman said. Connie Ryan, executive director of the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, said the legislation is immoral and contrary to data. She said the death penalty is not a crime deterrent, and it's too high a cost for Iowa's public funds. "The implementation of the death penalty is influenced by the racial undertones of our nation's history. African American men are adversely and disproportionally impacted," Ryan said. "They are more likely to be given the death penalty upon conviction, especially if the victim is white. That alone is argument enough against the death penalty, but we have additional concerns." Sabine Martin covers politics for the Register. She can be reached by email at or by phone at (515) 284-8132. Follow her on X at @sabinefmartin. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa bill adds death penalty for murder of law enforcement officer
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senate panel advances death penalty bill for murder of peace officers
Iowa senators are considering a bill to reinstate the death penalty in Iowa. (Photo by) A Senate subcommittee advanced this year's proposal to reinstate the death penalty in Iowa in cases where a person is found guilty of the intentional killing of a peace officer. Iowa abolished capital punishment in 1965. But Republican lawmakers have proposed bringing back the practice for specific crimes multiple times in recent years. In 2024, lawmakers considered a proposal to reinstate the death penalty for cases in which a person is convicted of first-degree murder for intentionally killing a police officer or prison employee. The 2025 bill, Senate File 320, is another attempt at implementing the death penalty for the crime of first-degree murder of law enforcement officers. Under current Iowa law, the intentional killing of a peace officer, correctional officer, public employee, or hostage by a person imprisoned in a correctional institution constitutes a first-degree murder charge. The legislation would create a new first-degree murder charge for when a person 'intentionally kills a peace officer, who is on duty, under any circumstances, with the knowledge that the person killed is a peace officer.' The death penalty, by lethal injection, could be considered when a person is convicted on the charge of intentionally killing a law enforcement officer. Sen. Dave Rowley, R-Spirit Lake, said the legislation came at behest of the family of Officer Kevin Cram, an Algona police officer who was shot and killed in the line of duty in 2023, as well as others in the state who expressed concerns about justice served after law enforcement officers are killed. 'These people came forward with this bill, and I think it needs a serious discussion on where the death penalty, where life imprisonment applies, and where it may not,' Rowley said. A majority of speakers at the subcommittee meeting were opposed to the legislation. Many representing faith groups said the state as an entity should not have the power to decide to end an individual's life. Connie Ryan, executive director of Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, read a letter from 170 faith leaders that called these proposals 'wrong, immoral, and contrary to the facts' about the effectiveness of the death penalty as punishment and a deterrent for crime. She said she read the same letter during numerous meetings since 2018 in opposition to death penalty bills. The Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit organization focused on capital punishment, found at least 200 people in the U.S. who have been sentenced to death since 1973 were wrongfully convicted and have been exonerated. Multiple studies, compiled by the organization, have found the death penalty does not effectively deter crime in states where the punishment is used. 'The government should not kill a human being as retribution or punishment, regardless of the person's actions,' Ryan said. 'It is unfair, it is unnecessary, it is ineffective, and it is morally wrong.' In addition to the moral arguments against the death penalty, several opponents to the measure said reinstating the death penalty would come at a high cost to the state. Amy Campbell, representing the League of Women Voters of Iowa, said during her time as a lobbyist at the legislature she has been repeatedly told 'we don't have enough money' for efforts on issues like conservation or Medicaid waiver waiting lists. 'More than a dozen states have found that the death penalty cases are up to 10 times more expensive when comparable to non-death penalty cases,' Campbell said. '(And) I haven't heard the judge the courts talk about their impact to them — there will be a fiscal impact to the courts. There have been in every other state, and … according to a Columbia Law School study, 68% of the cases, death penalty cases, are overturned. So that's a very costly process when we have others waiting for trial.' Jen Rathje with the Iowa Department of Corrections said the department, working with the Department of Administrative Services, found implementing the death penalty would come at a 'conservative' estimated cost of $3.45 million, a figure that does not take into account additional materials or equipment that would be required to carry out executions. She said estimates have found the cost of an execution would be roughly $9,000, with $2,000 for the pharmaceuticals used for a lethal injection and $7,000 for the cost of contracting an executioner. Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner said the costs to the state of hiring an executioner was unintentionally one of the 'most chilling' things she heard brought up in the discussion on the death penalty. She said while she understands why family members of police officers seek this form of justice, she said that reinstating the death penalty is not the best path forward for Iowa. 'I have the greatest, only the greatest, empathy and sympathy for the family of the slain officer. I cannot imagine what it is like to be in their shoes,' Weiner said. 'So I understand and appreciate some of the motivations. At the same time, I just, I really ask that we not do this.' Sen. Scott Webster, R-Bettendorf, said he believed there needed to be support for police officers, while also understanding those not in support of the bill were not siding against police. 'I think this conversation is not easy to have,' Webster said. 'I think the conversation will probably continue, and I'm okay with that, because I think we need to continue to have the conversation over these particular items. Because that's what we need to do as Iowans and as Americans, is have difficult conversations and try not to politicize them too much, just try to have the difficult conversation and see which way we move forward.' Rowley said the death penalty would just be 'an option' in the justice system as families, like the family of Officer Cram, seek closure following the murder of their loved ones. 'Not mandatory, but part of our justice system, integrated in to provide justice, not only for the family, but I also see it as an issue for society as a whole,' Rowley said. 'At some level, I feel — sorry — it needs to be addressed, and that's what brought the bill forward from the family. That's what brings it forward from my heart.'
