SALT LAKE CITY — Governor Gary Herbert weighed in on the idea of eliminating the death penalty in Utah, telling reporters he is a supporter of the death penalty, with some parameters.
“It should be extremely rare and be done for the most heinous of crimes,” Herbert said at his monthly news conference Thursday on KUED.
Governor Gary Herbert speaks at his monthly KUED news conference on Oct. 22, 2015. (Image courtesy KUED)
The governor went further to call on the appeals process to be shortened.
“The process should be in fact, streamlined. It is not right to have someone on death row for 20, 25, 30 years. Justice delayed is justice denied,” he said.
Herbert was responding to a hearing Wednesday at the Utah State Legislature’s Interim Judiciary Committee that began exploring whether or not the death penalty should be eliminated in the state.The discussion comes less than a year since the legislature passed a bill (and Herbert signed) bringing back the firing squad as a method of execution.
