New Hampshire state Senate defies veto, abolishes death penalty

New Hampshire's state Senate voted to abolish the death penalty on Thursday, The Washington Post reports.

Today's vote was a blow to Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who vetoed a similar measure last year. This time, however, the bill had enough votes to withstand a veto, and after passing through the New Hampshire House in April, the Senate voted to override Sununu 16 to 8.

The bill, which "changes the penalty for capital murder to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole," was mostly symbolic, a demonstration by lawmakers in a state that hasn't had an execution since 1939, and has only one inmate currently on death row. Sununu issued a statement moments after the bill passed, defending his support of the death penalty as "the right thing to do," and said he was "incredibly disappointed" with the Senate's choice.

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The death penalty is a rare divisive issue among conservatives. Republicans like state Sen. Sharon Carson and Sununu justify it as a necessary evil, pitting them against colleagues like Republican state Sen. Bob Giuda, who sees the death penalty as incompatible with his pro-life views, calling capital punishment a "ghastly sight," reports the Post.

New Hampshire is the final state in New England to ban the death penalty, and leaves only twenty-nine states still upholding the death penalty nationwide. Other states like California and Pennsylvania have effectively abolished capital punishment through governor-led moratoriums on execution. More than 2,700 inmates sit on death row nationwide.