Capital punishment in New Hampshire

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It is authorized as punishment only for capital murder, as defined by law. New Hampshire is the only remaining state in New England to authorize capital punishment by law. Although no one has been executed in the state since July 1939, governors and other politicians have curried support by continued approval of the death penalty.

In December 2008, Michael "Stix" Addison was sentenced to death for knowingly causing the death of Manchester police officer Michael L. Briggs. He is the only person on death row in New Hampshire, and the state has no execution facility.

Capital murder is the only crime for which people can be executed in the state. A person is guilty of capital murder if he knowingly causes the death of:

Since the state's last execution of Howard Long on July 14, 1939, eight people have been charged with capital murder. Three were convicted, but received a mandatory life imprisonment without parole sentence. In three other cases, capital murder charges were resolved before trial, twice because the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled the law authorizing the death penalty to be unconstitutional.

After a person has been convicted of capital murder, a separate penalty phase is carried out using the same jury. The jury weighs a variety of aggravating and mitigating circumstances. If a person has been convicted of capital murder and is not sentenced to death, the mandatory sentence is life imprisonment without possibility of parole (LWOP), the same sentence as for first-degree murder.

Executions must be carried out no sooner than one year after the sentencing. Death row for men and the execution are at the New Hampshire State Prison for Men at Concord. According to state law:

It is also possible for executions to be carried out by hanging if it is found:

In a 2008 poll conducted for the Concord Monitor, 57 percent of likely voters supported the death penalty in police killing cases, 39 percent favored life in prison without parole, and 4 percent weren't sure.

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