No to capital punishment
Tennessee stepped into the limelight with two recent failed attempts to carry out executions. The second, an effort to kill Christa Pike by lethal injection, resulted in a gruesome spectacle that captured national attention.
Botched executions in the U.S. are becoming increasingly common. Since 2021, preferred methods have included lethal injection, firing squad and lethal gas. Each has resulted in some horrifying results.
Legislation to abolish the death penalty in New Hampshire passed both houses in 2019 and survived a veto by then-governor Sununu. Many people assumed that included the state’s only death row inmate, Michael Addison.
It didn’t. Last week the New Hampshire Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by lawyers to reconsider his death sentence. Addison’s sentence stands.
In February 2026, opponents of the death penalty argued against bills proposed to reinstate capital punishment. Their testimony before the NH House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee (HCJPS) provided many reasons the state shouldn’t be in the business of killing. HCJPS voted unanimously against recommending the bills, which were rejected by the House with no floor debate.
Because it’s an act of the state, all residents share responsibility for an execution. The majority of New Hampshire citizens do not have the heart or stomach to go through what Tenneseeans have experienced. Regardless of sentencing date, most of us don’t want the premeditated killing of a fellow citizen on our consciences.