LITTLE ROCK (KFSM) – A state representative whose daughter was murdered by a man now on death row has proposed a bill that, if passed, would add firing squads as an alternative method to carry out executions under Arkansas law.
Rep. Rebecca Petty, R-Rogers, said she plans to file the bill on Friday (Feb. 26).
“The purpose of this act is to provide for alternative constitutional methods to carry out a sentence of death for the offenses of capital murder and treason,” the bill will state.
This proposition comes after the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday (Feb. 25) approved legislation that would eliminate the death penalty as a sentencing option in capital murder cases.
Petty’s recently-filed bill known as “Andi’s Law” was signed into law last week, according to legislative records. Andi’s Law allows families of murder victims to watch in person as the convict who killed their loved one is executed.
Petty said the Senate Judiciary Committee’s decision to advance a bill eliminating the death penalty was a “slap in the face” after she fought for Andi’s Law. Her 12-year-old daughter was raped and killed in Polk County in 1999.
