Del. General Assembly passes first leg of amendment to ban death penalty

DOVER, Del. – The Delaware General Assembly has passed the first leg of a constitutional amendment to permanently abolish the death penalty.

The bill passed the Delaware Senate 14 to 7 late Monday evening. Sponsored by Representative Sean Lynn (D) and Senator Kyra Hoffner (D), the bill cleared the House last week with bipartisan support.

The Delaware General Assembly initially abolished the death penalty in 1958, but it was reinstated a few years later as a result of high profile crimes. Over the past seven decades, the death penalty has been repealed, reinstated, and struck down as unconstitutional multiple Times. In 2016, the death penalty law was found to be unconstitutional for a third time, with 16 people being executed under that statute.

In 2024, the General Assembly voted to repeal the invalidated law from Delaware Code.

“After more than 50 years of an on-again, off-again relationship with the death penalty, I think that what history has taught us is that this is an experiment in constitutionality that we no longer can afford as a state,” said prime sponsor Rep. Sean Lynn.