Gov. Brown to keep death penalty moratorium if elected

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Gov. Kate Brown says if elected in November she plans to maintain a moratorium on the death penalty in Oregon.

Spokesman Bryan Hockaday told The Oregonian/OregonLive Monday that Brown has made clear her personal opposition to capital punishment and her support of the current moratorium.

Former Gov. John Kitzhaber announced the moratorium two weeks before the scheduled 2011 execution of Gary Haugen. After Brown took over the office in February 2015, she said she would continue the stoppage of public executions until further study.

Hockaday said the governor directed her general counsel to review the policy and practical implications of the state’s capital punishment law. He said Brown will continue the moratorium because “serious concerns remain about the constitutionality and workability of the law.”

Oregon’s death row has 34 prisoners.