HB1749

I oppose this bill.

The death penalty is a step backwards for New Hampshire. It does not decrease crime, it puts innocent lives at risk, it costs taxpayers more money, and it does not belong in a civilized society.

Murder is wrong

I oppose this bill for many reasons,one of which is because the death penalty disproportionately and unjustly harms disabled and neurodivergent people at every stage of the criminal legal systems, from investigation and interrogation to trial, sentencing, and execution. 1. Disabled and Neurodivergent Defendants Are at Heightened Risk of Wrongful Conviction People with intellectual disabilities, cognitive impairments, autism, mental illness, brain injuries, and trauma-related conditions are far more vulnerable to coercive interrogations, false confessions, and misinterpretation of behavior by law enforcement and juries. Traits such as flat affect, delayed responses, difficulty with eye contact, sensory overload, or atypical communication are routinely misunderstood as signs of guilt, lack of remorse, and can be misunderstood for a myriad of other reasons. These misunderstandings are not hypothetical; they are well-documented contributors to wrongful convictions, including capital cases. When the punishment is irreversible, these systemic failures become fatal. 2. “Safeguards” Do Not Protect Disabled People in Practice While the law attempts to exclude certain individuals with intellectual disabilities from execution, these protections are narrow, inconsistently applied, and often fail in practice. Many disabled people, particularly those with mental illness, developmental disabilities, or acquired cognitive impairments, do not meet rigid legal definitions, even though their disabilities profoundly affect judgment, impulse control, comprehension, and participation in their own defense. Disabilities do not disappear at the courtroom door. Yet capital punishment assumes a level of cognitive clarity, legal comprehension, and moral agency that many defendants simply do not have. 3. The Death Penalty Punishes Disability Instead of Addressing It Capital punishment turns disability-related behaviors into aggravating factors rather than mitigating ones. Symptoms of mental illness, emotional dysregulation, difficulty following instructions, and atypical communication can be framed as defiance, lack of remorse, or dangerousness. This is not justice. It is punishment for disability, layered on top of a criminal sentence. 4. Execution Is Inherently Incompatible with Disability Justice The death penalty is incompatible with principles of disability justice, which center dignity, fairness, access, and the recognition of human difference. A system that knowingly risks executing people who cannot fully understand proceedings, assist in their defense, or meaningfully consent to legal decisions is not a system that values equal protection under the law. Once an execution occurs, there is no accommodation, no appeal, and no remedy. 5. New Hampshire Chose a Better Path New Hampshire repealed the death penalty in 2019 after recognizing these moral, legal, and practical failures. Reinstating it would move the state backward—particularly for disabled Granite Staters who already face disproportionate harm within the criminal legal system. HB1749 would reintroduce a punishment that systematically endangers disabled and neurodivergent people, undermines fairness, and contradicts New Hampshire’s commitment to justice and human dignity. For these reasons, I respectfully urge the Committee to vote Inexpedient to Legislate (ITL) on HB1749.

NO. Not for first degree and second degree murder. Only for the worst of worst reasonless murder.

The death penalty serves no purpose whatsoever. It is not a deterrent to murder; it is more expensive for than State than life imprisonment without parole; and most importantly, it is immoral. Vote ITL.

I firmly believe that sentencing a criminal to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole is far worse a punishment than the death penalty.

Dear Members of Congress, It is fundamentally against the values of liberty and justice for a government to execute its own people in cold blood. NH abolished the death penalty in 2019 for a reason - state executions have no place here. There’s a reason they haven’t been practiced since 1939. Flawed and biased, the death penalty represents the most dangerous tool for human error in our justice system. Sincerely, Will Oliver Center Conway, NH

My father was murdered in California in 1979. Murdering his murderer would have just added violence to violence. Please oppose attempts to reinstate the death penalty.

TO The House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee FROM Julien Olivier, DMin—554 Beauty Hill Rd., Barrington, NH 03825 I respectfully submit the following testimony in strong opposition to HB 1740 In 2019 the State of New Hampshire with bipartisan support wisely and overwhelmingly abolished the death penalty (DP). There is no reason to overthrow that decision of the people and their government. I further offer the following reasons for not reinstating the DP. It is… Ethically inconsistent and ineffective Evidence has clearly shown that the application of the death penalty is inconsistent. Innocent people have unjustly been put to death for crimes they did not commit. Only later were the tragic miscarriages of justice uncovered. The death penalty is not a deterrent. Nor does it bring solace to the aggrieved or justice to society. The evidence for each of these arguments is readily available from academic sources as well as individual testimony. See, for example, https://innocenceproject.org; https://rjp.umn.edu (University of Minnesota); and https://www.theforgivenessproect.com. Morally wrong. As a Christian, I find no justification for the DP in the teachings of Jesus. The Hebrew Scriptures taught the lex talionis—an eye for an eye—proportional justice. But Jesus went further. Forgive as you would be forgiven and turn the other cheek. A high bar, indeed! One that few attain but an ideal nonetheless. Difficult as they are, his teachings offer no harbor for State-sponsored murder. That said, the Christian tradition has found some accommodation for warfare and thus, for the death penalty. But the conditions for killing are narrow. They are sometimes summarized as: just cause, right intention, last resort, with no other possible means to protect society. Reasons definitely not found in this tradition are retribution and revenge. Personally, I find no true justification for the death penalty. Does the DP. offer some degree of temporary relief and vindication? Perhaps. However, what might even be initial elation for the perceived end of an evil is often superficial and short-lived. It does not bring the desired peace. I write from my experience and perspective of having worked with incarcerated people for over 35 years—juveniles and adults; persons charged or convicted for misdemeanors and felonies; as a volunteer mentor, teacher, and chaplain in state and county facilities, in Maine, Manchester and Dover, N.H. Although some inmates appear incorrigible, people do change. We—you and I—change and have changed. Who are we to say differently and rule out what in Christian theology is known as metanoia, change of heart? I write as a student of the correctional system and one who has written and spoken about incarceration. Helpful were courses in restorative justice by the University of Minnesota. I write as a certified clinical and correctional chaplain. Finally, I write as a survivor of two armed attempts on my life. I don’t know who they were or what their circumstances were. I know they threatened to kill me, but who am I to judge them? Were these perpetrators ever caught, I’d want them away from society so they wouldn’t hurt others. But my hope would be for their rehabilitation or at least their change of heart.

Capital punishment is cruel and unusual. It is applied arbitrarily. It is disproportionately carried out on people of color. Convicts are found innocent months and years after conviction. The state should not be killing innocent people. Finally and least importantly, state execution is far more expensive than imprisoning the convict for life. NH should spend any budgetary excesses on its living residents and not in killing them.

I do not support the death penalty in New Hampshire!

I oppose this bill on both moral and religous grounds. I do not believe any system of government should have the authority to kill its own citizens.

No Death Penalty in New Hampshire

I oppose HB 1749 because the death penalty disproportionately harms marginalized communities and does not improve public safety.

Do not kill!

In a system that profits off of incarceration and a country that leads the developed world in amount of wrongly accused/ imprisoned people, we are not responsible enough to be utilizing the death penalty as punishment.

I oppose state sanctioned killing.

If NH reinstates the death penalty, we will be taking an unconscionable step backward becoming the only New England state to have such a sanction. The reasons to not restore capital punishment are compelling: moral, economic, uncertainty. As a practicing Christian we must treat life as sacred from the cradle to the grave. LWP is the moral and economic alternative that ensures that convicted individuals can never harm anyone again. I strongly urge you to oppose HB 1749. Thank you for your consideration, John Walsh

I oppose HB 1749, reinstating the death penalty for murder offenses; HB 1413, reinstituting the death penalty in cases of capital murder; and HB 1737, relative to reinstating the death penalty for certain offenses against minors under 13 years of age. As a member of the public, a Quaker, and a former hospice chaplain, the practice of capital punishment is immoral. It also does not work as a deterrent. It is not the action of a civilized world to take vengeance in this way.

The administration of the death penalty has been shown to discriminate against people of color and poor people, who represent the disproportionate number of people who have been sentenced to death throughout the country.

In 2019, New Hampshire made the right decision in repealing the death penalty. Capital punishment has no place in our state, where we are bound by the US Constitution and the 8th amendment, which calls for no cruel and unusual punishment. The death penalty is exactly that.

I oppose the death penalty because of the skewed justice system in our country. As long as we have unfair trials, tainted witness accounts, and inadequate legal representation, I am opposed to the death penalty.

I'm all for the fact that the punishment should fit the crime, but, the argument can be made that if you have decided to do away with the death penalty after almost fifty years then got rid of it for seven years. Yes, it's an issue, but, this state has a ton of other issues besides the death penalty such as the homeless and immigration. In case, you haven't figured it out yet the death penalty is not a on and off switch that you can just turn on and off whenever you choose. This issue cost money, now, unless you have that kind of money to spend to do just that then good luck to you. When the state had the death penalty I was in the first grade and knew nothing about the death penalty I was lucky to get away with learning my ABC's and 123's and spelling and reading. When I was able to learn of the death penalty the state didn't have it anymore. So, why bring back something that we've lived without for seven years. You guys are suppose to save the state money not spend it like it was yours. Thank you and have a good day.

I oppose the death penalty. I believe killing is wrong. I don't think anyone should have the right to decide who should live and who should die. I don't think anyone should bear the burden of that on their soul, and if someone can make that decision for someone else and not feel a burden then they aren't worthy of that position.