Government : Death penalty debated for murder of police, prison employees

By Robin Opsahl

State senators gave initial approval Monday to a bill that would bring back the death penalty in Iowa for first-degree murder cases where a person intentionally murders a police officer or prison employee.

Senate Study Bill 3085 is one of two bills to be discussed this session to reinstate capital punishment in Iowa. It passed a three-member subcommittee with two Republican votes.

The practice, abolished in the state in 1965, often has been proposed by Republican lawmakers in recent decades as a punishment for specific crimes. None of the bills have reached the governor's desk.

The legislation advanced Monday would allow for the death penalty to be imposed in cases where a person is convicted of first-degree murder and of intentionally killing of a peace officer, or correctional officer, hostage or other public employee while in a correctional facility.

Connie Ryan, executive director of Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, read lawmakers a letter that she said she has read almost every legislative session since 2018 in opposition to the death penalty.

"At its core, our opposition to the death penalty is based in our faith traditions that inform our beliefs on what is right and wrong, and what we must stand against on behalf of our faith and human rights," Ryan read. "Our collective faiths compel us to use our voices to declare the death penalty wrong and immoral."

Ryan was joined by faith leaders and advocates from multiple Christian faiths, including the Iowa Catholic Conference and Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, speaking in opposition to the death penalty both for religious reasons and because of issues found with the punishment's use in other states. The Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), a nonprofit studying capital punishment, found at least 196 people sentenced to death have been exonerated on all charges since 1973, and that the death penalty does not deter crime in states where it is used.

Leslie Carpenter with Iowa Mental Health Advocacy said she is opposed to the death penalty and also concerned about the provisions in the bill related to finding a person "mentally ill" or "intellectually disabled" - categories that would make them ineligible for the death penalty. Carpenter said while she appreciated the inclusion of the language exempting these groups, she was concerned about the ability of the court to deny requests to have psychiatric or psychological evaluations conducted "if the court determines that there is not sufficient reason to believe that the inmate is insane" before any medical experts have been consulted.

"It is morally repellant to me that anybody would ever consider killing somebody for having the misfortune of having developed schizophrenia, a condition on the brain that they never asked for and never chose," Carpenter said.

Sen. Tony Bisignano, D-Des Moines, said he was opposed to the death penalty. He also criticized Republican lawmakers for focusing on law enforcement in the legislation but not adding language related to school shootings. Sen. Scott Webster, R-Bettendorf, responded that the perpetrator of the Perry High School shootingwould not be eligible for the death penalty under the proposal. The shooter in that case was a minor who took his own life.

The bill's language on peace officers and correctional facility employees comes after the 2021 murders of a correctional officer and nurse at the Anamosa State Penitentiary by two inmates. Bisignano said including measures related to the Anamosa case while excluding any response to school shootings after the Perry deaths was "about as tone deaf as you can get."

He said he would like to ask a police officer, "if they had the choice of implementation of a death penalty but only can cover one group, would they cover themselves or would they cover school children?"

Bisignano also said the legislation is a "political round," and not a "live round" unless Gov. Kim Reynolds indicates she would sign the death penalty back into law.

"We keep playing with politics in election years, and this seems to be the 'cop killer' bill," he said. "It seems to be that thing that you want to put in your brochure. But I hope you put along with that that you excluded children killed in school shootings."

No lobbyists or members of the public spoke in support of the bill, but Sen. Dave Rowley, R-Spirit Lake, said many Iowans support reinstating the death penalty.

"I appreciate everybody's comments and positions, but there's a large silent population out there that suffers in silence from murder," Rowley said.

Rowley said he supports the measure to support the law enforcement officers who have been murdered and to help their families seek justice following their deaths. Webster echoed his comments.

"I know there's a lot of conversation about, 'this doesn't deter anybody,' but that closure that those parents need, or the wife or the husband or the kids need, should be considered also, I agree with that," Webster said. "This is a difficult situation. And I believe that we should back our police officers and our peace officers that work in our prisons."

The Senate Judiciary Committee will next hear the bill and consider an amendment to the legislation.

Last session, a bill that advanced out of the Judiciary Committee proposed allowing the death penalty in cases where a minor is kidnapped, raped and murdered, and similar measures were introduced in 2021 and 2019. The 2023 bill, Senate File 357, was reassigned a subcommittee earlier in January, which has not yet been scheduled.