Committee advances constitutional amendment to bar death penalty after extensive testimony

The House Administration Committee voted to release House Bill 35, a proposed amendment to Article I of the Delaware Constitution to prohibit the death penalty.

Representative Sean Lynn, sponsor of the amendment, framed the bill as a response to Delaware——s long and troubled history with capital punishment and a means to prevent future reinstatement. "It's just time to end the cycle," Lynn said, summarizing decades of statutory changes and court rulings that repeatedly altered Delaware's capital punishment regime.

Committee members heard extended public comment in favor of the amendment. Kevin O'Connell, chief defender at the Office of Defense Services, noted contemporaneous legislative activity on preventive detention but said capital cases traditionally have contained provisions permitting denial of bail when appropriate. "Capital cases have always had the provision that if proof positive or presumption rate is there, you can deny bail in capital cases," O'Connell said.

Multiple advocacy organizations and faith leaders also urged passage. Zoey Pachel, a paralegal and community organizer, cited wrongful convictions, cost, and racial disparities and told the committee "the intentional taking of a human life conflicts with the principle of human dignity and the right to life." Chris Acey, representing the League of Women Voters of Delaware, said the group "strongly favor[s] an amendment ... that permanently removes the death penalty as an option." Jovan Rich, policy and advocacy director at the ACLU of Delaware, urged release and later passage on the floor, saying the death penalty "is imposed disproportionately upon society's most disadvantaged people."

Citizen testimony included remarks from Mark Deshawn of Newark United Methodist Church, who called state-sponsored killing "just plain wrong on so many levels" and urged the committee to pass the bill out of committee. The committee also received virtual testimony urging the amendment, including Tanya Whittle of the Delaware Center for Justice.

House attorney Karen Lance addressed technical drafting concerns raised by committee members, saying an amendment to prohibit capital punishment would render references to capital offenses elsewhere in the constitution incongruous and that the proposed language reflects current practice and clarifies constitutional sections.

A motion to release the bill was made and seconded. Recorded roll-call statements in the transcript show Chair Harris and Vice Chair Ocinski (Rosinski/Ozinski as recorded) voting yes and Representative Dukes voting no; the motion nonetheless received the required number of votes and carried. The bill will proceed to the floor for further consideration.