WYOMING – Calling capital punishment ineffective and costly, Laramie County Representative Jared Olsen (HD-11) and Converse County Senator Brian Boner (SD-02) teamed up this week to introduce legislation that repeals the death penalty in Wyoming.
“While we must continue to be tough on crime and keep victims at the forefront of our minds, the death penalty has been found to be ineffective and expensive,” Olsen said. “Having the death penalty on the table is a costly endeavor. The Wyoming Public Defender spends approximately $750,000 every year in taxpayer money to staff and fund capital cases.”
Boner added, “Wyoming has not carried out an execution in 27 years and does not have a single inmate on death row, yet we continue to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to maintain the death penalty. I believe the availability of a life without parole sentence adequately balances the need to protect public safety while recognizing the need to reduce the strain on taxpayer resources.”
House Bill 145 (Death Penalty Repeal-2) was introduced in the Wyoming State Legislature this week by Representative Olsen and Senator Boner. Speaker Steve Harshman, House Majority Leader Eric Barlow, and House Majority Whip Tyler Lindholm have all signed on as cosponsors. Representative Andy Schwartz has also signed onto the bill.
The legislation would repeal the death penalty in Wyoming, making life without parole the most severe sentence available. The fiscal note on the bill, completed by the nonpartisan Legislative Service Office, estimates the elimination of the death penalty would save the State of Wyoming approximately $750,000 in expenditures in FY2020 alone.
