Montana needs to repeal the death penalty

It was disappointing to hear that the Montana House Judiciary Committee voted 11-9 to table House Bill 370, which would have replaced the death penalty with life without the possibility of parole.

It seems that the Judiciary Committee is ignoring their House colleagues, from both sides of the aisle, who demand that this bill be heard and debated by the full house. In fact, 10 Republicans in the House recently submitted a letter calling for the repeal of the death penalty.

Repealing the death penalty is about responsible government.

The death penalty wastes our tax dollars — death penalty cases cost up to 10 times as much as non-capital cases — and take, on average, 17 years to prosecute.

I urge our legislators to take another look at repealing the death penalty.

Margie Gignac,

Kalispell