Governor Vetoes Bill to Abolish Death Penalty

Governor Jodi Rell has vetoed legislation that would have abolished the death penalty. The governor says the state cannot tolerate people who commit the most violent of murders.

Supporters in the Democrat-controlled General Assembly do not have the necessary two-thirds majority of votes to override her veto. HB 6578, which would have replaced capital punishment with life in prison, passed 19-17 in the Senate and 90-56 in the House last month.

Connecticut has 10 death row inmates. It has executed one inmate since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to reinstate capital punishment in 1976.