Death-penalty repeal fails again in Utah

(The Center Square) – The families that testified before the Utah House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee talked about the immeasurable loss of their family members, but they differed on whether taking the life of their murderers would bring closure to a horrible chapter.

The committee heard nearly three hours of testimony Monday on House Bill 147, which would have abolished the death penalty for the crime of aggravated murder and replaced it with a sentence of 45 years to life. The sentences of life without the possibility of parole and 25 years to life would remain on the books.

Sharon Bright Weeks changed her mind about the death penalty after her family endured multiple court hearings for her sister’s killer. The murder of her 24-year-old sister and 15-month-old niece happened in 1984, but their killer died of natural causes in prison in 2019.

After her sister’s killer died, she researched the death penalty, she said, finding that some people spent time on death row for crimes they did not commit.

Weeks contacted the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Lowry Snow, R-St. George. The death penalty is broken, he told the committee.

“The death penalty unintentionally causes more harm to victim’s families,” Snow told the committee. “Our media attention today focuses on the defendant rather than the victim. Meanwhile, the victim and the victim’s family suffer because they are now being re-traumatized again by the media.”

And there is also a chance the death penalty could be overturned by a court, Snow said.

Not all families felt the same, however. Gary Oleson’s mother, Eva Oleson, was murdered in 1985. Her killer is one of seven inmates on Utah’s death row. Oleson’s family has endured 36 years of heart-wrenching appeals, he said.

“This bill is just another law to save the breath of violent criminals,” Oleson said. “The truth is this bill would not eliminate appeals. Families of victims would still have to endure the pain of appeals with the added fear that the person would be set free without every winning an appeal.”

Most prosecutors and law enforcement officials also opposed the bill.

“I think you will see more trials for victims which then generates more appeals,” said Troy Rawlings, Davis County district attorney. “I don’t think the fix works.”

The committee was split almost evenly, and the bill failed to get committee approval with a final vote of five in favor of the bill and six against.

“The bill would remove the possibility of the death sentence for all future crimes, no matter how horrible,” Rep. Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, said. “A future Ted Bundy could not receive the death penalty if this bill passed.”

This is the third time in the past decade lawmakers have considered repealing the death penalty. Efforts in 2016 and 2018 also failed.

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