DOVER, DE – Legislation repealing the death penalty was signed into law by Delaware Gov. John Carney (D) in late September, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
House Bill 70 declares the Supreme Court of Delaware found the death penalty is unconstitutional in 2016, and amends Title 11 of the state code replacing the penalty with life without parole as the most severe punishment for first-degree murder cases for those over 18.
According to the DPIC, Sen. Kyle Evan Gay (D), stated, “I know we have focused on whether the death penalty should be used in Delaware, but currently this statute is unenforceable. Removing it ensures that it is… out of our code.”
HB 70 is primarily sponsored by Rep. Sherry Dorsey Walker (D), and passed the House with a 33-8 vote in June of 2024.
As it moved on to the Senate, it passed 14-7 on June 27, when Walker said, according to DPIC, “The death penalty is cruel and unjust. Over the last few years, my colleagues and I have worked tirelessly to create a more fair and logical criminal justice system in Delaware.”
According to DPIC, the state legislature tried to appeal the death penalty during the 2015-2016 session, after the announcement of former Gov. Jack Markell (D) of his plans to sign a bill abolishing capital punishment. While passing the Senate and House judiciary committee, the bill was defeated once it made its way to the House.
The DPIC explains the outcome was reconsidered pending the outcome of the case Rauf v. State, which challenged the constitutionality of capital punishment procedures in Delaware.
And, said DPIC, on “August 2, 2016, in Rauf, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled the statute violated capital defendants’ right to a jury trial by allowing the judge, rather than the jury, to determine whether the prosecution had proven all the facts necessary to impose a death sentence and by permitting death sentences to be imposed without a unanimous jury vote.”
Death Penalty Information Center reports that, on Aug. 15, the Attorney General stated he would not appeal the decision of the case. In December 2016, the court ruled in Powell v. State that Rauf applied to those still on death row, reducing 13 incarcerated individuals sentenced to life with parole.
According to DPIC, “Last year, (state) Washington enacted SB 5087, which amended its constitution to align with the state supreme court’s ruling in State v. Gregory (2018), which declared its death penalty statute unconstitutional because it was applied in an arbitrary and racially discriminatory manner.”
