Bill would effectively ban death penalty in Oregon

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – A proposed bill in Salem would effectively ban capital punishment in the state by limiting it to terrorism-related killings.

House Bill 3268 would also grant new sentencing trials to all people currently on death row.

Lawmakers cannot introduce an outright ban on capital punishment without sending the measure to the ballot box.

Voters approved adding the death penalty to the Oregon Constitution in 1984.

Gov. Kate Brown extended a 2011 moratorium on using the death penalty that was begun by her fellow Democratic predecessor, John Kitzhaber, who resigned.

The state Department of Corrections says there were 30 people on death row as of Jan. 1, 2019. The last execution was in 1997.