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New Hampshire repeals death penalty, overrides Republican gov veto

The state hasn't executed anyone since 1939, and there is only one inmate on death row.
Image: Chris Sununu
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu Cheryl Senter / AP

CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire is the latest state to repeal its death penalty, as the state Senate had enough votes to override Gov. Chris Sununu's veto.

The repeal takes effect immediately.

The 16-8 vote Thursday was the necessary two-thirds majority to override. The House narrowly voted last week to override Sununu's veto.

New Hampshire's death penalty applied in only seven scenarios. The state hasn't executed anyone since 1939, and there is only one inmate on death row. The repeal law does not apply retroactively to Michael Addison, who killed Manchester Police Officer Michael Briggs in 2006, but capital punishment supporters argued that courts might interpret it differently.

Sununu vetoed the bill last month at a community center named in honor of Briggs.