Iowa Death Penalty Legislation Advances In Senate

DES MOINES, IA — A proposal has advanced in the Iowa Senate that would bring back the death penalty in the state in cases involving the murder of a law enforcement officer or the kidnapping, rape or murder of a child.

A subcommittee voted 3-2 on Monday to send Senate Study Bill 3134 to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Des Moines Register reported. The legislation could be voted on in that committee as early as this week, the newspaper said.

Iowa's last execution was more than half a century ago at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison. Federal inmate Victor Harry Feguer was hanged on March 15, 1963, for the abduction and killing of Dubuque physician Edward Bartels.

The state abolished the death penalty two years later.

Chief Deputy Iowa Attorney General Eric Tabor spoke out against the bill. He provided a letter from state Attorney General Tom Miller that said Iowa already has the equivalent of a death penalty: a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole. The letter said Iowa has one of the lowest murder rates in America and casted doubts that a death penalty could be fairly and impartially administered, especially for African-Americans.

Republican Rep. Steven Holt, of Denison, who is the manager of the bill in the Iowa House, recently said he couldn't support the legislation. Iowa Public Radio reported he said the death penalty costs more than a life sentence.

“Statistics show without a doubt those of lesser means are more likely to receive the death penalty than are those with greater assets and the ability to hire the best attorneys,” Holt said. “So my conclusion after researching this bill is not exactly what I expected.”

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