Connecticut governor signs bill to repeal state’s death penalty
About a dozen anti-death penalty campaigners march to the Osborn Correctional Institution May 12, 2005 in Somers, Connecticut. Before the execution of Michael Ross in 2005, the last execution in New England was in 1960.
Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy signed a bill into law that abolishes the state's death penalty for future crimes.
The Associated Press said it makes Connecticut the 17th state in the nation to abandon capital punishment and the fifth in five years to usher in a repeal.
CNN reported the ban goes into effective immediately but is "prospective," meaning it does not apply to the 11 men currently on death row.
It replaces the death penalty with life in prison without the possibility of release as the state's highest form of punishment.
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"Although it is an historic moment … it is a moment for sober reflection, not celebration," Malloy said.
A new Quinnipiac University Poll out the same say showed 62 percent of the states' registered voters still favor the death penalty for those convicted of murder, the AP wrote. The same survey found 47 percent of voters disapprove of Malloy's handling of the issue, while 33 percent approve.
A former prosecutor, Malloy said he used to support the death penalty but his position evolved over the years.
The state was the last in New England to utilize the death penalty since it was reinstated in 1976; it broke a 45-year hiatus and executed Michael Ross in 2005.
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