Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber has said he will no longer permit capital punishment in Oregon, because he is deeply disturbed over two executions he authorized more than a decade ago. He now prefers that murderers be sentenced to prison for life.
Oregonians seem divided on the issue, in referendums twice outlawing capital punishment and twice supporting it. Voters most-recently legalized the death penalty on a 56-44 vote in 1984.
Prosecutors have long complained that convictions have been blocked for decades in long transit through the court system, yet efforts for reform and to expedite the process in the legislature have stalled.
The governor's decision now means that five states will no longer execute. The others are Illinois, New Mexico, New York and New Jersey, for various reasons.
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