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Maine Gov. Paul LePage Calls for Use of Guillotine for Drug Traffickers

While LePage said the death penalty would be "appropriate for people who kill Mainers," the state actually abolished capital punishment in 1887.
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Maine Gov. Paul LePage wants to take a heads-off approach to drug dealers in his state.

The colorful and controversial governor said during a radio interview Tuesday that he'd be in favor of using the guillotine in executing drug traffickers.

Related: Maine Gov. Paul LePage Has History of Controversial Remarks

"What we ought to do is bring the guillotine back," LePage told WVOM-FM. "We could have public executions and we could even have which hole it falls in."

LePage didn't specify what he meant by hole.

While the Tea Party-backed Republican governor said the death penalty would be "appropriate for people who kill Mainers," the state actually abolished capital punishment in 1887 — making his suggestion moot.

The governor's office later said Tuesday his remarks during the interview were a joke, according to The Associated Press.

LePage had also said that "if you want my honest opinion, we should give (drug traffickers) an injection of the stuff they sell."

LePage found himself in the national spotlight earlier this month when he claimed out-of-state drug dealers were coming to Maine to sell heroin and impregnate "white girls."

He said in a subsequent news conference that his use of "white girls" was a slip of the tongue, and blamed the media for blowing his words out of proportion.

Some Maine Democrats have been pushing for LePage's impeachment following the uproar, claiming he has engaged in an abuse of power as governor.