Gov. Kate Brown Calls Off Plans for a Special Session this Month to Fix Death Penalty Bill
In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown called off plans for a special session this month to amend the death penalty bill passed during the regular session.
Brown said she didn't have the votes to fix Senate Bill 1013, which limits when the death penalty can be applied. There was confusion after the legislative session when state lawyers reversed their earlier opinion and determined the bill could apply retroactively.
That opinion set off a flurry of finger-pointing and arguments about whether overturning death sentences had been the intention all along. Prosecutors wanted a special session to fix the bill, but defense attorneys—and the bill's chief sponsor, Rep. Jennifer Williamson (D-Portland)—didn't.
"While it is clear there is a misunderstanding regarding the intent of the words in Senate Bill 1013, it is also clear there is not sufficient support for a special session to pass a fix," Brown said in the statement. "When announcing my support for a special session, I said that it was conditional on stakeholders and legislators crafting bill language that had the votes to pass. That has not been achieved."
Read more: https://www.wweek.com/news/state/2019/09/18/gov-kate-brown-calls-off-plans-for-a-special-session-this-month-to-fix-death-penalty-bill/
(Williamette Week)