DOVER, Del. (AP) - House lawmakers have voted to reinstate Delaware's death penalty.
Tuesday's 24-to-16 vote came amid public outcry over the killing of a correctional officer during a prison riot and hostage-taking in February, and the fatal shooting of a state trooper two weeks ago.
The bill now goes to the Senate.
Under the bill, jurors would have to find unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant should be executed.
The state Supreme Court declared Delaware's death penalty law unconstitutional in August because it allowed judges too much discretion and did not require that a jury find unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant deserves execution.
That ruling came after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Florida's death sentencing law, which was similar to the one in Delaware.
