DOVER, DE- Death penalty abolitionists rallied at Legislative Hall on Tuesday, calling on lawmakers to support House Bill 35, which would permanently enshrine the state's ban on capital punishment in its Constitution.
The bill, introduced earlier this year, seeks to solidify Delaware's 2016 Supreme Court decision to strike down its death penalty statute as unconstitutional.
While last year’s House Bill 70 officially repealed capital punishment, supporters of HB 35 argue that making it a constitutional amendment will protect the ban from future challenges.
Kevin O'Connell, with the Office of Defense Services, says this step is necessary to prevent the death penalty from returning.
"We're seeking to motivate our elected representatives to pass a constitutional amendment to enshrine in our state's constitution that we shall no longer have the death penalty as a potential punishment."
O'Connell emphasized the importance of constitutional protection, noting that legal decisions can be reversed.
"Court decisions can change. The General Assembly can change, and we need to enshrine in our Constitution that we don't want to bring this back."
Advocates at the rally, like Fleur McKendell with the Delaware NAACP State Conference of Branches, say the death penalty is not only a legal issue but also a civil rights matter.
"We see how it disparately impacts people of color in historically marginalized communities."
Between 1992 and 2012, Delaware executed 16 people—an era O'Connell says he hopes never returns.
"We were number three in the nation per capita in executions. So we were right up there with Texas and Oklahoma, a dubious distinction as far as I'm concerned."
Supporters of HB 35 argue that constitutional protection would prevent Delaware from returning to capital punishment.
McKendell says the risk of wrongful convictions is too great and believes Delaware should have a justice system rooted in healing, not killing.
"Our justice system is not perfect. It cannot guarantee guilt. It cannot guarantee innocence. And because of that, we should not be taking a life in the name of justice."
The bill has been voted out of committee and is now on the ready list, awaiting further action.
To amend Delaware's constitution, a constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority vote in two consecutive legislative sessions