Maine

Maine Governor LePage Jokes About Beheading Drug Dealers With Guillotine

In a radio interview expressing his support for the death penalty, Maine Gov. Paul LePage said with a laugh that he wants to use the guillotine to execute drug traffickers.

The governor's office said Tuesday the remark on WVOM was just a joke to illustrate his support for tougher penalties for drug crimes.

During the interview, LePage laughed when he talked about using the guillotine to chop off the heads of drug dealers at public executions.

"I think what we ought to do is bring the guillotine back," he said.

LePage in the past has voiced his support for the death penalty for drug dealers. The Legislature, however, has a long history of rejecting capital punishment, which was abolished in 1887 in response to a botched hanging.

The Republican governor drew criticism earlier this month for comments about out-of-state drug dealers impregnating "young white" girls. LePage later apologized and said he meant to say "Maine" girls, not "white" girls.

Days later, a group of Maine lawmakers sought to impeach the governor over allegations he abused his power by pressuring a charter school into rescinding a job offer to the state's Democratic House Speaker.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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