Gov. Beebe Says He’d Sign Death-Penalty Ban If Passed

Although no lawmaker has proposed the idea, Gov. Mike Beebe (D) said today that his views on the death penalty have changed and that he would sign a bill to repeal capital punishment if it reached his desk.

Beebe's comments came at a Political Animals Club luncheon in Little Rock at the Governor's Mansion.

John Lyon with our content partner, the Arkansas News Bureau, reports:

Beebe, in the middle of his second and final term as governor after 20 years in the state Senate and four years as state attorney general, said his evolution on the death penalty was not philosophical.

“What caused me to come to that way of thinking is how I felt when I had to sign a death warrant,” he said.

Beebe has signed four death warrants since he became governor in 2007, although no one has been put to death on his watch because of pending litigation.

You can read the full story at this link.