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Brown comes out for the death penalty

E-mail|Link|Comments () October 8, 2009 12:08 PM

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

State Senator Scott Brown, the most prominent Republican in the race for US Senate, is attempting to strongly differentiate himself from the Democratic candidates by declaring himself a supporter of the death penalty.

Brown, a Wrentham Republican, has released a Web video saying that those who commit “crimes that are so horrific that they shock our conscience” deserve to be executed.

All four candidates running in the Democratic primary oppose the death penalty, although earlier this week US Representative Michael Capuano seized on Attorney General Martha Coakley’s past support for the death penalty in limited cases.

Coakley, until seven or eight years ago, supported capital punishment in two instances, including for those convicted of killing police officers. She said she shifted her position after becoming concerned about wrongful convictions, and now opposes it in all cases.

“My Democratic opponents Martha Coakley and Mike Capuano are having an ongoing debate over who’s more liberal,” Brown says in his Internet ad. “Each one is trying to be softer on crime than the other. Unlike both of them, I support the death penalty.”

“Deadly acts of terrorism, murders involving torture and the killing of law enforcement officials are among the types of crimes that deserve the ultimate punishment,” he added.

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.