Lawmaker Wants to ‘Expand’ Death Penalty in La. during Upcoming Session; Question Remains as to How
BATON ROUGE, La. – Republican state lawmakers in Louisiana may be looking to bring new ideas to the table when it comes to the death penalty. One state senator has announced his plans to expand the death penalty during the upcoming Legislative Session, but the question remains as to how he intends to do so.
It was only eight months ago when Democrat Governor John Bel Edwards publicly called for an end to Louisiana’s death penalty. However, this move was met with resistance from lawmakers who subsequently blocked the attempt to abolish capital punishment in committee, for the fifth time in six years.
Following this setback, many death row inmates reached out to Governor Edwards, pleading for their lives to be spared. In response, Edwards requested the Board of Pardons and Committee on Parole to conduct hearings to review the petitions. This unleashed a series of legal battles, rallies, news conferences, and contentious debates from both sides of the argument. Eventually, the Board denied all 50+ pleas.
The stage is now set for what could come next.
According to WAFB Political Analyst Jim Engster, with an extremely conservative legislature and a governor who favors the death penalty, it is likely that various changes may be on the horizon. Engster believes that lawmakers may consider adding crimes that fall outside the current death penalty statute or even exploring alternative methods of execution such as fentanyl or firing squads.
The last execution in Louisiana took place in 2010, and other states have already made revisions to their capital punishment procedures. Alabama, for example, recently extended the time allotted to the prison system for carrying out executions and eliminated automatic reviews for trial errors in death penalty cases.
With Governor-elect Jeff Landry also in favor of the death penalty, Engster speculates that the sentiment surrounding capital punishment will be markedly different, potentially leading to more support for executing individuals who have committed murder.
However, even if new legislation regarding the death penalty successfully passes through the legislature, legal battles are almost certain to follow.
The regular legislative session in Louisiana is set to begin in March, where the fate of the death penalty will be decided.
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