By Steven Allen Adams, The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Another Republican lawmaker is calling for a return to the death penalty in West Virginia for specific cases, but others question the effectiveness of the death penalty.
In a press release Monday, state Sen. Mike Stuart said the first bill he will introduce when the 2024 legislative session begins at noon Wednesday is legislation to reinstate capital punishment, the death penalty, in cases that involve the death of law enforcement and first responders.
“If you target first responders in the line of duty leading to death, the death penalty should be on the table,” said Stuart, R-Kanawha. “This isn’t about vengeance. This is about justice.”
Stuart, an announced candidate for the Republican primary for attorney general, cited the death of West Virginia State Police Sgt. Cory Maynard last summer. Timothy Kennedy pleaded not guilty in June after being accused of ambushing Maynard after the trooper was responding to a call of shots fired near Matewan in Mingo County.
