On April 14, 1917, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee walked out of the Senate as opposed to holding a committee meeting that surely would have resulted in a vote on legislation to institute the death penalty in Michigan for first degree murder.
Chair George Condon of Detroit, joined by Sen. Cass Jankowski of Detroit, “slid out” of the Senate chambers at noon. The House had passed the bill, 61-35, and a majority of Senators signed a petition claiming they wanted to vote on it, too. Jankowski said he wanted to interview murderers at Jackson prison before he made up his mind on whether to legalize capital punishment in Michigan.
Source: Detroit Free Press