By: Madeline Meyer, LSU Manship School News Service
Published: May 14, 2019
BATON ROUGE–The House Administration of Criminal Justice advanced controversial bills on Tuesday that would abolish the death penalty and lower sentences for first-time marijuana possession.
Rep. Terry Landry, D-New Iberia, who pushed for abolishing capital punishment in both 2017 and 2018, sponsored that bill. It passed 8-7, reviving a roposal that was rejected by the Senate last weekp.
“Death by the government is wrong, and that is why I bring this bill,” Landry, a former superintendent of the Louisiana State Police, said.
Landry said he had had a change of heart about the death penalty over the years. He also disclosed that he would not seek re-election, emphasizing that his proposal was not politically motivated.
His bill is similar to one sponsored by Sen. Dan Claitor, R-Baton Rouge, that was rejected on the Senate floor.
Louisiana is among 31 states that continue to implement the death penalty.
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