New Hampshire Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

03/13/2026

Here’s an excellent piece on how grisly and unfair the death penalty is which, sadly, is on the rise in the United States.

NH CADP applauds Granite Staters who said, “not here in NH, we’re not going back.” In particular, we’d like to acknowledge the sage leadership of NH Rep Terry Roy, chair of the House Criminal Justice & Safety Comm, who understands all the reasons why the death penalty is wrong for NH.

The surge in capital punishment is a cruel and unjust development.

03/05/2026

Please call Alabama Governor Kay Ivey’s office to ask her to commute Mr. Burton’s death sentence. 334.242.7100

In Sonny Burton’s case, justice must include mercy.

02/20/2026

Still celebrating and grateful!

The New Hampshire House of Representatives voted down a bill that would’ve re-instituted the death penalty half a decade after the state chose to do away with it.

02/19/2026

Woohoo! The death penalty bills were defeated in the NH House! Thank you to all the coalition partners!

02/19/2026

Please join us this morning in hoping the NH House joins the House Criminal Justice & Safety Comm in agreeing to .

These bills are on the consent calendar!

02/17/2026

Friends, the 4 death penalty bills are unanimously voted as “Inexpedient to Legislate” by the NH House Criminal Justice & Safety comm. They are on Thursday’s consent calendar to be voted on by the full NH House on their session day.

From today’s Union Leader, “The overwhelming majority of New Hampshire citizens do not wish for the death penalty to be reinstated under any circumstances,” said Rep. Terry Roy, R-Deerfield, who is the committee chairman.

Please note, one of the four bills is amended to remove death penalty language and instead provides for enhanced penalties for certain crimes committed against minors.

We apologize for the paywall:

With the lion’s share of 2026 bills having had their initial public hearings, the frenzied pace of the New Hampshire Legislature slows just a bit during an abbreviated four-day work

02/06/2026

Encouraging update: THANK YOU for all your smart and strategic hard work!!! Thank you for sharing your stories - you changed the hearts and minds of the C&J comm members.

THREE of the four death penalty reinstatement bills will go to the House floor with unanimous bipartisan "Inexpedient to Legislate" recommendations.

— HB 1413 reinstituting the death penalty in cases of capital murder
— HB 1749-FN reinstating the death penalty for murder offenses.
— HB 1737 relative to reinstating the death penalty for certain offenses against minors under 13 years of age.

The fourth bill, HB1730 making all offenses against minors involving sexual pe*******on or contact felony-level offenses punishable by death, was amended to completely remove capital punishment. It was amended to enhance penalties for sexual offenses involving children, ie making them felony charges. This bill also passed unanimously.

These bills are on the consent calendar. Ten members of the NH House must call for a bill to be removed from the consent calendar. If this happens, there will be typical debate/discussion followed by a floor vote. If one of the bills is pulled from the consent calendar, the Criminal Justice committee’s bi-partisan and unanimous decisions strongly signal to members of the NH House the committee’s opposition which is good for us. It is not completely over but it looks very promising going into next Thursday.

Again, thank you.

01/24/2026

We can live without the death penalty.
Let the death penalty rest in peace.

01/23/2026

Today 3 of the 4 death penalty bills had their hearings before the House Criminal Justice & Safety Committee. Next step - being present when the House Criminal Justice “exec’s” these bills.

Thank you to all the stakeholders who testified in-person - family members of murder victims; law enforcement; attorneys; members of the judiciary; people of faith; the disability community; and, in general, Granite Staters who believe in accountability, not lethality in NH’s justice system.

Thank you to all who came out including Voices of Faith! Thank you to everyone who signed in remotely and submitted their testimony online.

01/19/2026

Friends, when the Board of Directors discovered there were not 1, not 2 but FOUR bills seeking to re-instate the death penalty, the NH Coalitition to Abolish the Death Penalty had to rather suddenly mobilize to re-engage old networks and establish new ones. Refreshing the website, developing media assets, and coordinating a strategy to defeat these fiscally irresponsible bills requires your financial support.

Please donate today and thank you for your generous support!

The New Hampshire Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty [a 501(c)(3) organization] relies on donations from people like you to continue our work toward making repeal in New Hampshire a reality.You…

03/30/2022

https://www.concordmonitor.com/My-Turn-No-death-penalty-45629641

Maria Wilkinson of Concord is a research intern in Taiwan at Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP). As someone born and raised in New Hampshire, it was surprising that the first time I heard of Renny Cushing was when I began my work on...