On reading the June 1 Concord Monitor, I was surprised to see a front-page article stating that Kelly Ayotte was “angry” over the Senate’s vote that overrode the governor’s veto and ended capital punishment in New Hampshire.
My response is: Who cares what Kelly Ayotte thinks? She is not speaking for the majority of New Hampshire citizens. She and many Republicans lost that fight at the polls when an estimated 80% of New Hampshire residents let politicians know that they wanted an end to this archaic and repulsive form of punishment that solves nothing for the bereaved or the state.
Democrats said early on that we would repeal the death penalty if possible. To our great satisfaction a significant number of Republican state representatives and senators felt the same way. We accomplished this goal not as partisan politicians but as representatives of New Hampshire who respected the people’s choice. Trying to make this a partisan power grab is insulting to the citizens of New Hampshire who elected all of us.
This has been weighing on the conscience of lawmakers for decades. As noted in the Monitor, “Lawmakers have considered repeal in every session for the last two decades.” The people told us that now was the right time to make this change.
Rep. RICHARD G. OSBORNE
Campton