Montana House kills repeal of death penalty on tie vote

HELENA (AP) — Representatives have voted down a bill that would end capital punishment in Montana.

Members of the House of Representatives voted 50-50 on Monday to fail House Bill 370 on second reading. Three Democrats and 47 Republicans voted against the measure and 12 Republicans joined 38 Democrats in voting for it.

Republican Rep. David Moore of Missoula introduced the proposal in the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 13. Committee members passed the bill 11-10.

Representatives debated the repeal for more than 20 minutes. Supporters called for life imprisonment over death. Opponents said repealing the death penalty would be unfair to victims.

Similar bills have survived the Senate, but in the last two sessions have failed in the House.

Two men currently imprisoned in Montana have been sentenced to die.

Rep. Roy Hollandsworth, R-Brady, gave an impassioned speech telling how when he was child members of his family were murdered. The family lived in fear that someday the guilty party would get paroled and come back after the remaining family members.

Rep. Stephanie Hess, R-Havre and Rep. Mike Lang, R-Malta, voted for keeping the death penalty Rep. Bruce Meyers voted to abolish it.