These State Laws Don’t Care What The Federal Government Decides

Rhode Island Rejects The Death Penalty

While each state has their own law regarding the death penalty, there’s a death penalty available under federal law. In 2012 there was a standoff between the federal government and the State of Rhode Island regarding this law. The people of Rhode Island voted to eliminate the death penalty, so the governor didn’t feel it right that a federal courthouse could sentence a man to die in their own state. So when the feds started fighting to execute one man, in particular, the state fought back. While the governor wasn’t able to keep him out of federal court, the battle resulted in the judge sentencing him to life without parole.