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The New York State Senate passed legislation last Wednesday co-sponsored by Glendale Senator Serphin Maltese that, if signed into law, would reinstate the death penalty in New York. The Senate also created a web site to give New Yorkers the opportunity to sign an online petition in support of the death penalty. The Senate’s action on death penalty legislation was announced at a press conference in Albany on March 1st. Benjamin Nazario of Flushing, whose brother was one of five victims killed at a Wendy’s restaurant in May 2000, attended the conference in support of the legislation. Republican Senators are urging Democratic leaders of the Assembly to bring the bill to the floor for a vote. “I am absolutely positive that the death penalty is a strong deterrent to crime,” said Maltese, a former Queens prosecutor and former deputy chief of the homicide bureau. There’s not one report or study that shows the death penalty deters crime or murder. NYADP and other advocacy groups also expressed concern that the web site set up by the Senate allows supporters to express their opinions but does not give opponents that option. [more]