HELENA — Lawmakers on Wednesday defeated a bill to abolish Montana's death penalty. The bill received nine more "yes" votes than a similar bill did last session.

Proponents and opponents across party lines pleaded with their colleagues to "vote your hearts" on House Bill 529, sponsored by Rep. Christine Kaufmann, D-Helena. The bill failed, 55-45.

"I probably cannot imagine the grief and the rage that victims' families feel," Kaufmann said. "But I ask myself again, ‘Is it the role of the state to carry out that rage, that revenge in the name of those families and in the name of all of us with our tax dollars?'"

She and other supporters of the bill told the House that capital punishment does not deter crime, wastes resources and risks being applied to innocent persons. Their main point, however, was that the state should never, under any circumstances, justify the taking of a person's life.

Opponents said they have the same objective in mind by executing people who would, if they had the chance, take a life.

Rep. Jeff Laszloffy, R-Laurel, said his opposition to the bill comes from a public safety standpoint.

"In some instances, there is no way we can stop certain people from killing," Laszloffy said. He pointed out that four of the six inmates on death row in Montana are there because they killed another inmate while in prison.

The bill sparked an emotional debate. Rep. Bob Bergren, D-Havre, rose to tell the House about his personal experience with capital punishment. His sister-in-law was killed in a double homicide three and a half years ago and he and his family had to decide whether or not to ask prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

"What a perfect time to put someone to death," he said, adding the appeals process would have been too harsh on his family. "I didn't want to put my family through that."

Kaufmann and co-sponsor Rep. Joey Jayne, D-Arlee, made the point that the justice system is human, and therefore fallible, and capital punishment puts innocent people at the risk of losing their lives at the hands of the state.

"I do not think the system will ever be infallible because human beings are part of that system and thus, we have to say to not administer that irreversible and final solution," Kaufmann said.