Death penalty bill sparks heated debate among senators

Intro:	A bill to extinguish the death penalty in Missouri brought two hours of debate to the Senate floor.
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Wrap: Topics of debate included the financial costs of the death penalty and exoneration.

Senators expressed their concerns for innocent men placed on death row.

Bill sponsor Jefferson County Republican Paul Wieland gave many reasons for his opposition to the death penalty.

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Description: The first reason is I'm a devout Catholic and I believe in the sanctity of life from the moment of conception until natural death. And I find it inconsistent of me to be pro life on one end of the spectrum and then to allow the death penalty to go without saying anything about it.

After getting support from other senators, Wieland set the bill aside acknowledging the bill would not have enough vote to pass.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Shannon Shaver.

Intro:	Debate on a bill to end the death penalty in Missouri continued after it was set aside due to the lack of support it would have.
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Wrap: The bill's sponsor allowed for a short debate before he acknowledged the bill would not get enough support to pass.

After the bill was set aside by the sponsor, Republican Senators addressed the other side of death penalty debate.

Columbia Republican Kurt Schaefer accused supporters of turning defendants into victims.

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Description: So this idea that somehow the victim in this whole thing is the defendant. Who after this whole process was found guilty, and a jury determined that they warranted the death penalty. That that's the victim in this scenario, is outrageous.

Schaefer's arguments spurred further debate on the bill, in total lasting more than two hours.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Shannon Shaver.

Intro:	For the first time in many years, a repealed death penalty bill became before the senate for a debate that lasted more than two hours.
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Wrap: Debate on the death penalty continued on the floor even after the bill set aside by the sponsor.

For more than two hours, the Senate discussed costs of capital punishment, exoneration and personal stories.

Co-sponsor of the bill St. Louis County Democrat Gina Walsh expressed her concerns for innocent people placed on death row.

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Description: I don't know. Sometimes people are wrongly accused and wrongly prosecuted and wrongly sent to jail. The other thing, I don't think it's equitable across the board.

Republican Senators spoke out against the bill.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Shannon Shaver.

Intro:	The Missouri Senate spent more than two hours debating a bill that the sponsor believes will not pass.
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Wrap: The cause of the debate, a bill to repeal the death penalty in Missouri.

Bill sponsor Jefferson County Republican Paul Wieland agreed with Republican Senator Rob Schaaf when he said there is no will in the Senate to change the death penalty law.

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Description: I agree with the senator from the seventh that there isn't the will in the body to change this, you and I both know it. 'Yes' But we at least ought to have the conversation.

Wieland set aside the bill, acknowledging there was not enough support for it to pass.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Shannon Shaver.

Intro:	A bill to end the death penalty in Missouri sparked debate among senators after the bill was set aside.
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Wrap: Bolivar Republican Mike Parson began debate after the bill sponsor acknowledged it would not pass.

Parson said that if the Senate was going to discuss the bill they were going to hear both sides.

Columbia Republican Kurt Schaefer also spoke out against the bill, using his experience in his arguments.

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Description: These are the worst of the worst. These are people that if they were not contained they would kill more people, would create more victims. Someone has to do the job and it's easy to stand in here and 'ahh well theoretically.'

Schaefer also argued that the cost of capital punishment is irrelevant.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Shannon Shaver.