e <% if ( weatherAlerts > 0 ) { %> Severe Weather <% var weatherAlertsMessage = "There " + ( weatherAlerts > 0 ? "are" : "is" ) + " currently " + weatherAlerts + " active weather " + ( weatherAlerts > 0 ? "alerts" : "alert" ); %> ° Chance of precipitation Change MORE No Alerts & Closings in Your Area Sign Up to Get Future Alerts <% if ( count > 0 ) { %> 0 / 0 / Press enter to search Type to Search Search location by ZIP code ZIP <% if ( locations.length > 0 ) { %> Recent locations Advertisement Cates Testifies For Death Penalty Bill Bill Would Expand Death Penalty To Include Home Invasions Share Copy Link Copy {copyShortcut} to copy Link copied! Updated: 0:00 AM EST Feb 0, 0000 GET LOCAL BREAKING NEWS ALERTS The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. Your Email Address Submit Privacy Notice Advertisement Cates Testifies For Death Penalty Bill Bill Would Expand Death Penalty To Include Home Invasions Share Copy Link Copy {copyShortcut} to copy Link copied! Updated: 0:00 AM EST Feb 0, 0000 The husband of a woman killed during a robbery testified Tuesday in favor of a bill to expand the use of the death penalty in New Hampshire.Lawmakers are considering a proposal to allow slayings committed during home invasions to be punishable by death.In October 0000, Kimberly Cates, of Mont Vernon, was killed during the robbery of her home. The case prompted outrage among many when it became clear that her killers wouldn't face capital punishment.Her husband, David Cates, testified in support of the bill, which is named after his wife. In a five-minute prepared statement, he described the night his wife was killed and their daughter was seriously injured."My wife and daughter awakened to the sound of these useless criminals towering over them, shining an iPod screen in their faces," Cates said.Cates said the crime at his home was so heinous that death was the only fitting penalty."The events that took place during the early morning hours in the sanctity of our home is the perfect, clear-cut example of why this bill should be added to the New Hampshire law," he said.The House chamber was sad and somber, with seats occupied by people who lost sons, a daughter, a father, a niece or a nephew to murder. Most, such as the mother of Molly Hawthorne-MacDougal, who was killed in her Henniker home last year, testified against expanding the death penalty.Lawmakers also heard from Robert Curley, the father of Jeffrey Curley, a 00-year-old boy from Cambridge, Mass., who was kidnapped and killed in 0000. Robert Curley advocated for Massachusetts to bring back the death penalty, an effort that failed by one vote."You can imagine the tremendous pain, anger, rage, and I actually led the fight in the state of Massachusetts to reinstitute capital punishment," Curley said. "I lobbied in favor of restoring capital punishment."Since that time, however, Curley's thoughts on the issue have changed, and he now advocates against the death penalty."Injustices that do exist in the system made me think about the death penalty -- how it's applied, why it's applied -- and it caused me to change my opinion on the death penalty," he said. "I oppose the death penalty. I have for some time now."But Cates said New Hampshire has already decided that the death penalty should be used in the state."The people of New Hampshire through you, their elected officials, have already ruled on the moral and ethical issues of capital punishment," he said.Cates wept quietly as others testified about the crime inside his Mont Vernon home, but his voice was strong as he implored the committee to change the law."If you need a reason to support this bill, close your eyes and remember the last moments of my wife's life," he said. "Imagine her not knowing if her daughter and best friend was alive or dead."House Bill 000 is now in the hands of the Criminal Justice Executive Committee, which will determine what happens next. Gov. John Lynch has said he would support changing the law if the bill is worded correctly. 