Connecticut will be the 17th state to abolish the death penalty and the fifth to do so in the past five years. Nor is it likely to be the last: other states are reconsidering capital punishment. Repeal bills have been proposed in a number of states, including (unsuccessfully) Florida, which has 402 people on death row. In November Californian voters will vote on whether to repeal their death penalty. Kentucky’s House of Representatives recently passed a measure setting up a body to review and reform the death penalty. Pennsylvania and Oregon are also reviewing their death-penalty laws, and Georgia and Delaware this week each granted a stays of execution in a murder case. For six months Ohio had an unofficial moratorium because the state failed to follow its execution protocols. But a judge has now allowed the resumption of capital punishment. The first execution after the pause took place on April 18th.
康涅狄格州将会成为第17个废除死刑的州，也是过去五年中的第5个废除死刑的州。康州似乎不会是最后一个，其他的州在重新考虑死刑。废除法案曾在一些州提出过，包括（不成功的）福罗里达州，该州有402人在死囚区。11月加利福利亚州的选民将会就是否废除死刑投票。肯塔基州的众议院最近通过一项措施，设立机构评估并改革死刑。宾夕法尼亚州和俄勒冈州同样在评估死刑法。本周佐治亚州和特拉华州各自延缓了一起谋杀案的死刑执行。俄亥俄州的非正式延缓已实行六个月，因为该州不能遵守死刑惯例。但是一位法官现在已经允许继续执行死刑。中止后首次死刑于4月18日执行。
The fear of executing innocent people is helping drive the trend for repeal. Between 2000 and 2011 an average of five people on death rows were exonerated each year. This is no small thing in a country where 3,199 people sit on death row and where only a few months ago Rick Perry, the governor of Texas, was cheered during an election debate when he bragged about executing criminals. But Texas is unlikely to change its policy in the near future. And in Connecticut, despite the change in the law, those on death row will remain there.
担心处死无辜的民众有利于推动废除死刑的潮流。在2000年到2011年期间每年在死囚区中平均有五人被赦免。美国共有3199个死囚犯，仅仅数月前德克萨斯州州长里克-派瑞还在大选辩论中吹嘘着处死死囚犯，并引来台下一阵欢呼声。在这样的一个国家内，这么高的赦免率可不是小事。但是德克萨斯州近期不太可能改变政策。在康涅狄格州，即使法律上做了更改，死囚区的囚犯仍旧会呆在那里。