By JEAN McMILLAN
Associated Press Writer
BOSTON, Sunday, November 29 -- If tomorrow the Legislature voted on whether to reinstate the death penalty, the state would likely be facing another a deadlock.
An Associated Press review of lawmakers' previous votes and the positions of newly elected lawmakers found a 79-79 tie on the controversial issue.
Not included in the survey were a police sergeant who has won a seat in the Statehouse and a Revere woman stepping into her late father's seat. Both are attracting the spotlight in the death penalty debate.
Jose Santiago, a Lawrence Democrat on disability leave from his job on the Methuen police, said he hadn't seen any death penalty bills he would support.
But he said he favored the death penalty for those who murder police and in cases of extreme atrocity, such as in the killing of Jeffrey Curley. The 10-year-old Cambridge boy's death fueled a drive to reinstate the death penalty.
The death penalty proposal failed to pass the House on an 80-80 tie vote last November. Now, heading into a new legislative session, the votes in that chamber still appear to be agonizingly close.
Kathi-Anne Reinstein, a Democrat who is stepping into the shoes of her late father, Rep. William Reinstein, couldn't immediately be reached for comment. But she has reportedly said she is undecided.
Down the road, it is possible, of course, that any of the 160 House members could change their minds, instantly changing the death penalty equation.
On the Senate side, the measure is expected to see smooth sailing. It has passed easily there in recent years.
Acting Gov. Paul Cellucci, a death penalty proponent, said he planned to lead off the debate in January by resubmitting his death penalty bill.
The measure, filed annually since 1991, calls for execution in a dozen instances of first-degree murder and includes a two-tiered trial system designed to protect against innocent people being sentenced to death.
In 1994, the bill passed in the Senate, but failed in the House by 16 votes. The following year, the margin of defeat narrowed to 10 votes. Last year, one vote could have brought the death penalty back.
Santiago said he hadn't read Cellucci's proposal and wasn't sure he could support it.
While her father voted for the death penalty, Reinstein has reportedly said she is concerned about the possibility of an innocent person being wrongly condemned to death.
Cellucci said would try to convince new legislators of its importance to reducing violent crime and giving added protection to police officers and correction officials.
"We're going to try to point out to them that we've had pretty good success over the last eight years with the tough law-and-order approach on criminal justice," Cellucci said.
Another factor that could affect the vote is any change in the House membership.
Rep. Douglas Stoddart, R-Natick, a death penalty opponent, has been nominated for a judgeship in Framingham District Court and could be confirmed as soon as next month.
It's possible other lawmakers also could be tapped for jobs in the administration.
Meanwhile, death penalty opponents have an ally in powerful House Speaker Thomas Finneran, D-Boston.
"It's going to be extraordinarily close," said Tom Lowenstein, political director for Massachusetts Citizens Against the Death Penalty.
Nevertheless, Lowenstein said he believed opponents of the death penalty would prevail and he hoped a defeat in the Bay State could reverse the trend nationally.
Massachusetts is one of 12 states currently without a death penalty.