DELAWARE- In a major decision late June 30, the Delaware State Senate voted 14–7 to pass House Substitute 1 for House Bill 35, the first leg of a constitutional amendment to ban the death penalty permanently.
The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Sean Lynn and Sen. Kyra Hoffner, follows last week’s bipartisan approval in the House. It seeks to add capital punishment to the list of penalties prohibited under Article I, Section 11 of the Delaware Constitution.
Kevin O’Connell, chief defender of the Office of Defense Services, supports lawmakers for taking what he called a “monumental first step.”
“The death penalty has failed us fiscally, morally, and constitutionally, and it is time to relegate this failed policy to the dustbin of history,” O’Connell said.
According to the Delaware Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, Delaware has struggled with capital punishment for decades. The Coalition says, the death penalty was first abolished in 1958, then reinstated following high-profile crimes, and ultimately struck down as unconstitutional multiple times.
In 2024, lawmakers repealed the death penalty law from the Delaware Code. Lawmakers say the new amendment aims to prevent its return altogether.
Rep. Sean Lynn, the bill’s prime sponsor, said Delaware can no longer afford what he called an “experiment in constitutionality.”
“After more than 50 years of an on-again, off-again relationship with the death penalty, I think that what history has taught us is that this is an experiment in constitutionality that we no longer can afford as a state,” Lynn said.
Supporters also point to declining homicide and violent crime rates since the last ruling against capital punishment in 2016. The Coalition says this opposes claims that it serves as a deterrent. Data from the Delaware Statistical Analysis Center shows continued declines.
According to the General Assembly, to take effect, the amendment must pass again with a two-thirds vote in the next legislative session.