The death penalty could be on the brink of death in Connecticut. The state legislature's judiciary committee is considering it should be changed, eliminated or left alone.
One inmate has been executed in Connecticut in nearly 50 years -- serial killer Michael Ross in 2005, after he waged a legal fight to die.
"The death penalty process is long, arduous and frustrating to the families of victims," Rep. Michael Lawlor, D- East Haven and chairman of the committee told the Hartford Courant. "This process is simply unfair to everyone involved, most notably the victims."
The committee voted 24-13 on March 31 to advance a bill to abolish the death penalty. Supporters called the existing law unworkable and expensive.
But the committee also asked Chief State's Attorney Kevin Kane to come up with proposals for a "more workable" death penalty.
Kane's plan calls to streamline the appeals process by requiring transcripts of proceedings to be prepared more quickly and limiting habeas corpus petitions in state courts, the Courant reports.
