HB1047

I oppose capital punishment. PERIOD. It is immoral. It is NEVER a deterrent and costs the state a tremendous amount of money.

I do not support state sanctioned killing even for crimes as serious as these.

This death penalty should be shut down again, and again. I oppose the death penalty and always has.

ice is murdering people and causing unnecessary duress to the american people. i oppose the funding of ice. i oppose our state welcoming ice into our neighborhoods. we must stand together as a community an tell ice NO.

I oppose reinstating the Death Penalty in NH.

I strongly oppose this bill. I am opposed to capital punishment because the state should not have this ultimate power over citizens. The chance of human error in the judicial system is too great for the state to carry out the death penalty. Thus making a crime a capital murder offense is not an option.

Absolutely not.

I oppose this bill because it reduces transparency, access, or fairness in public processes and does not meaningfully improve outcomes for New Hampshire residents.

I oppose the return of the death penalty to NH. The death penalty is costly to taxpayers and does not deter crime. The government should never be in the business of murdering people.

This bill is in conflict with Federal law and makes it more difficult for those who are legally eligible to vote to do so.

The death penalty should not be reinstated in New Hampshire for any reason.

The death penalty has no place in NH. The data are clear that it does not deter crime. The data are clear that it is disproportionately applied to members of particular communities. The data are clear that wrongful convictions are frequent and lead to innocent people being executed. Regardless of the identity of the victim, the death penalty has no place in NH.

Guns do not belong in schools!

While there have been threats against elected officials, it is established fact that the death penalty does not act as a deterrent and costs the state more than imprisonment. Please vote no.

I support this bill and recommend that the committee adopt the amendment brought forward by Ivy Vann.

I don't think NH's elected officials need to a specially protected sub class, government by the people and for the people and all.

Guns are more likely to increase the violence, injury and death in schools.

Thou Shalt Not Kill - Especially the State

The death penalty is a cruel and unusual, permanent punishment that has no place in our imperfect criminal justice system. The murder of human beings at the hands of the state, no matter their crimes, is disgusting and unacceptable. I firmly oppose this bill and the use of capital punishment in New Hampshire. Any member of the NH House of Representatives that votes in support of this bill has no business holding public office.

Dear Representatives: When New Hampshire repealed the death penalty, I testified along with other faith leaders from across traditions and on behalf of the Jewish Clergy Association of New Hampshire. I shared how my own faith tradition has both acknowledged the severity of crimes that in the Bible are deemed punishable by death, and also acknowledged the impossibility of human beings to hold ourselves to a high enough standard of procedure and wisdom to entrust ourselves with taking a life in the name of society. I believe that most people influenced religiously by the Bible, Christian or Jewish, hold a version of this view now; the lex talionis may have been our ancestors' law but it is not ours. This is not an easy position to take, and certainly not an easy position for a Jew in our current world to take. Nonetheless, it is the guidance of our long Jewish tradition. It parallels the doubts articulated first from other sources about the motives that lead societies to seek punishments by death for crimes -- motives that are partially good but are at least just a bit sullied by vengeance, by superiority, by attributing virtues to one group over another, by discrimination overt or unaware. These are all reasons to keep our current New Hampshire system of punishing heinous crimes by the most severe prison terms. Opposing this bill does not mean you or I would be against justice for those who deserve it. Thank you for your service and consideration. Sincerely, Rabbi Jonathan Spira-Savett

Expands New Hampshire’s capital murder statute to create new death-penalty-eligible offenses based on the political status of the victim, reinforcing capital punishment and undermining abolitionist principles. Why This Bill Is Dangerous Expands capital punishment Adds new categories of crimes eligible for the death penalty, reversing New Hampshire’s slow movement toward abolition and re-entrenching capital punishment in statute. Creates a hierarchy of victims Elevates the lives of political officials and candidates above others, implying some victims are more deserving of the harshest punishment than ordinary citizens. Weaponizes motive Ties capital charges to political motive, increasing prosecutorial discretion, speculative intent arguments, longer trials, higher costs, and unequal application of justice. Uses fear to re-legitimize the death penalty Exploits fear of political violence to normalize and justify capital punishment rather than addressing violence through prevention, security, or democratic resilience.

This bill allows landlords to double security deposits making housing less affordable, which will negatively affect our NH economy .

No to the death penalty, it does not deter crime, is unequally administered and ireversable.

The death penalty will not be a deterrant, but it will end up costing the state a great deal in legal fees in any attempt to carry out the death penalty.

I oppose state-sanctioned murder. Do not drag NH into the list of countries which kill their own citizens. The state makes mistakes.