City's Reps. Will Vote No on Death Penalty

The death penalty--an issue which will has been revived in the form of a bill expected to come to the floor of the state House of Representatives next week--will not be reinstated in Massachusetts, if Cambridge has anything to say about it.

Three Cambridge state representatives said yesterday they hope to defeat a measure raised by Governor A. Paul Cellucci to reinstate capital punishment in the commonwealth.

Cambridge representatives Jarrett T. Barrios '90, Paul C. Demakis '75 and Alice K. Wolf, all Democrats, said yesterday that they plan to vote against the bill.

The local representatives' stance on the death penalty fits Cambridge's traditionally liberal character.

Demakis said he opposes the legislation because of the possibility that wrongly accused prisoners, especially minorities, could be put to death.

Barrios, who is Latino, announced yesterday that all three Latino House members plan to vote against the bill, saying that minorities are sentenced to death at a higher rate than white convicts.

According to several studies blaming discrimination in the judicial process, minorities are far more likely to be sentenced to death.

Demakis also cited a statistic that says states with the death penalty have the highest homicide rates, rebutting arguments that capital punishment has a deterrent effect against capital crimes.

Even recent violence in the city has not swayed Cambridge representatives' strong stance against capital punishment.

Two years ago, Cambridge was the scene of a murder that became a rallying call for supporters of the death penalty bill.

Supporters of capital punishment used the 1997 killing of 10-year-old Jeffrey Curley in Cambridge to emphasize the need for a death penalty in Massachusetts.

But Cambridge's representatives remain unconvinced.

"[Curley's murder] did not change my position, nor will any [other] tragedy," Demakis said.

According to Wolf, Curley's murder only made the debate more difficult because of the heightened emotions surrounding his death.

The subtle effects of a death penalty worry Wolf, who said she believes that the government should not kill criminals.

"It creates an atmosphere of violence and revenge," Wolf said.

No one has been executed in Massachusetts since 1947, but this will be the second time in two years that the House has voted on the death penalty.

In 1997 the bill failed in a dramatic 80 to 80 tie in the House. Representatives expect this year's vote to be just as close.

"I am cautiously optimistic that we will defeat the bill," Demakis said.

Three of Cambridge's five state senators reached yesterday said they would vote against the death penalty.

They include Sen. Steven A. Tolman, Sen. Robert E. Travaglini and Sen. Robert A. Havern III'72, again all Democrats. Were the bill to pass the House, the Senate would consider it.

"I'm almost positive it's going to fail in the House," Havern said.

Though the vote may fail, the representatives do not expect the issue to die. According to state law, bills can be brought to the floor every two years.

"It's just going to take another killing [to resurrect debate about the death penalty]" Havern said, adding that the debate will rise again before long.

Timothy J. Toomey Jr., also a Democratic representative from Cambridge, was unavailable for comment yesterday. Toomey supported the death penalty in the 1997 vote.