( CNN ) -- Connecticut 's governor says he will sign a bill abolishing the death penalty , making it the 17th state to abandon capital punishment . On Wednesday night , lawmakers in Connecticut 's House of Representatives passed the bill by a vote of 86-63 . The state Senate approved it last week . `` I 'm pleased the House passed the bill , and when it gets to my desk I will sign it , '' said Gov . Dannel Malloy , a Democrat . `` When I sign this bill , Connecticut will join 16 other states and almost every other industrialized nation in moving toward what I believe is better public policy . '' Malloy did not say when his office will receive the bill . Connecticut 's move continues a national trend toward the abolition of capital punishment . In the past five years , four states have done so . State lawmakers in Connecticut first tried to pass a similar bill in 2009 -- but were ultimately blocked by then-Gov . Jodi Rell , a Republican . Capital punishment has existed in the state since its colonial days . But the state was forced to review its death penalty laws beginning in 1972 , when a Supreme Court decision required greater consistency in its application . A moratorium was then imposed until a 1976 court decision upheld the constitutionality of capital punishment . Since then , Connecticut juries have handed down 15 death sentences . Of those , only one person has actually been executed , according to the Death Penalty Information Center , a nonpartisan group that studies death penalty laws . Michael Ross , a convicted serial killer , was put to death by lethal injection in 2005 after he voluntarily gave up his appeals . The state currently has 11 people on death row . The bill , however , is prospective in nature , meaning that it would not apply to those already sentenced to death . Advocates of a repeal say Connecticut 's current law keeps inmates on death row for extended periods of time , who are often engaged in multiple appeals , and presents taxpayers with far larger costs than if the convict were placed in the general prison population serving a life sentence . They also point to instances in which wrongful convictions have been overturned with new investigative methods , including forensic testing . Opponents of the repeal commonly argue that capital punishment serves as a criminal deterrent , offering justice for victims and their families . In the last five years , New Jersey , New Mexico , New York and Illinois have repealed the death penalty . California voters will decide the issue in November . The other non-death penalty states are Alaska , Hawaii , Iowa , Maine , Massachusetts , Michigan , Minnesota , North Dakota , Rhode Island , Vermont , West Virginia and Wisconsin , according to the Death Penalty Information Center .
State House of Representatives passes the bill 86-63 . `` When it gets to my desk I will sign it , '' governor says . Connecticut would be 5th state in 5 years to abolish capital punishment .