Different debates about death penalty in statehouses

The stories of legislative reform of the death penalty in different states remains amazingly dynamic as evidenced by these stories in today's papers:

• Alaska House committee debates death penalty

• House panel backs bill banning death penalty in Colorado

In Alaska, "lawmakers have begun hearings on a proposal to reinstate the death penalty, a practice abolished even before statehood was granted more than half a century ago."  But in Colorado, a "House committee Monday night, after hearing hours of emotional testimony, approved a bill that would ban the death penalty."

Also, from Maryland comes this report that "Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) said yesterday that he would like to see a relatively quick, up-or-down committee vote on a bill to repeal Maryland's death penalty."  Because debate over death penalty repeal in Maryland has been going on for years, I am sure this story will keep making headlines, too.