Voters in German state approve abolishing death penalty

BERLIN – Voters have approved a constitutional change abolishing the death penalty in Hesse, the last German state to have capital punishment on the books.

The move is purely symbolic, because Germany’s federal constitution and European treaties the country has signed already ban the death penalty. These override state law.

Final results from an October referendum published Wednesday show 83.2 per cent of voters in Hesse — which includes the city of Frankfurt — approved abolishing capital punishment.