For the third year, a local state representative has pre-filed a bill to eliminate the death penalty in Louisiana. 

HB 215 was pre-filed by State Rep. Terry Landry, D-New Ibeira, March 27. If passed, the bill would “eliminate the death penalty as punishment for the crimes of first degree murder, first degree rape, and treason; to provide for the penalty of life imprisonment without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence for the crime of treason and to provide for prospective application.

“My initial reason for filing it was to have a real conversation about whether it was making us safer and whether it was morally correct,” Landry said. “I disagree that it is.”

Landry argues the death penalty is expensive beause it costs three times as much to house a person on death row as a regular inmate.

“Morally, I just don’t believe it’s within our power to take a life,” Landry said. “Spiritually I have a really strong belief that it’s not for man to take a life. At the end we’re no safer, we have one of the highest violent crime rates in the country.”

A Louisiana survey from the LSU Reilly Center for Media and Public Affairs found in 2018 found that a majority of Louisiana resident support the death penalty. Fifty-eight percent residents favored it while 34 percent opposed it. 

Currently there are 20 states that do not have the death penalty in Louisiana.

Sen. Dan Claitor, R-Baton Rouge, has also pre-filed a bill to abolish the death penalty for this year’s upcoming legislative regular session. Claitor’s bill would create a constitutional amendment abolishing the penalty. 

If passed, Landry’s bill would eliminate the death penalty for all offenses committed on or after Aug. 1 of this year.