Utah lawmaker ends push to abolish death penalty

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Republican lawmaker who shepherded a longshot push to abolish the death penalty in conservative Utah said Thursday night he was abandoning the effort, saying he didn't have enough time or votes to pass the measure before a midnight deadline.

Death penalty supporters argued Urquhart's repeal would leave prosecutors shortchanged at the bargaining table, where they would otherwise negotiate a plea deal of a life sentence without parole in lieu of execution.

Conservative Republicans who favor abolishing the practice said they have no problem in theory with the idea of execution for a horrible crime, but they felt years of appeals delayed any justice.

Utah lawmakers stopped offering inmates the choice of firing squad in 2004, saying the method attracted intense media interest and took away attention from victims.

Nebraska's Republican-controlled Legislature voted last year to abolish the death penalty over a veto from that state's GOP governor.