In Utah this week, the Republican-dominated legislature considered a bill to abolish the death penalty in that state. Originally this was considered a long-shot, but the legislation passed the state senate and a house committee before moving to the full house for a vote.

Ultimately, it was tabled in the final hours before a midnight deadline Thursday. But it has a good chance of passing in the next legislative session. If it does, Utah would become the 20^th state to repeal the death penalty. (The District of Columbia has also abolished it.) Another 12 states have moratoria on the death penalty and eight more are debating whether to end it.