How will she execute
Convicted cop-killer Michael Addison lost his most recent appeal at the State Supreme Court. The state government’s intention to execute Addison is clear: from the original prosecution, to the Governors and Executive Counselors that chose not to commute him, to his exclusion when the Legislature repealed the death penalty in 2019, to this most recent appeal to the judiciary.
As she seeks a second term, one ought to ask Gov. Kelly Ayotte just how she intends to carry it out. She was, after all, the Attorney General who put him on death row (population: 1), and it was her Attorney General that won this most recent appeal. In campaigns and statements, she has made her stance clear. But I haven’t seen a plan for how.
Under New Hampshire law, capital punishment can be done by lethal injection or hanging. There’s been a slew of botched injections in recent years. Could New Hampshire do it better? The state has no published protocol. Can it obtain the required drugs? Manufacturers forbid their sale for this purpose. Does New Hampshire have personnel to administer an IV? The medical community wants no part. Is there a designated “death chamber” where this can take place? No other state permits death by hanging. (NH exceptionalism!)
It is clear that the state, Gov. Ayotte especially, intends to execute this criminal. She’s had the past two years to clarify the details, and some 20 years working on the case. It’s high time she explain to the voters how she intends to carry out this sentence.