Lawmakers will debate returning death penalty to Iowa [View all]

DES MOINES — Bringing the death penalty back to Iowa likely will be debated but probably not approved during the 2018 legislative session, key lawmakers say.

Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he plans to assign a subcommittee to take up Senate File 335 with an eye on possibly expanding the provisions, but he is uncertain how far the issue may go in a session already loaded with what he said were more pressing priorities.

S.F. 335, introduced by a group of Senate Republicans last session, would restore capital punishment in Iowa for the first time since 1965 by establishing a two-pronged process.

A jury or judge could convict a perpetrator of committing multiple class A offenses, and separately make a decision whether to execute the offender by lethal injection. Any death penalty conviction automatically would be appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court, and juvenile offenders would be exempted.

Read more: http://qctimes.com/muscatine/news/lawmakers-will-debate-returning-death-penalty-to-iowa/article_77863f68-df52-5bfd-9497-d7f921102cd6.html