{"id":4675,"date":"2022-03-07T22:15:52","date_gmt":"2022-03-07T22:15:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/CBMiYWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmN0aW5zaWRlci5jb20vbmV3cy9hcnRpY2xlL05ldy1IYW1wc2hpcmUtSG91c2UtRGVtb2NyYXRpYy1sZWFkZXItQ3VzaGluZy0xNjk4NDM5MS5waHDSAQA"},"modified":"2022-03-07T22:15:52","modified_gmt":"2022-03-07T22:15:52","slug":"new-hampshire-house-democratic-leader-cushing-dies-at-69-ct-insider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=4675","title":{"rendered":"New Hampshire House Democratic leader Cushing dies at 69 – CT Insider"},"content":{"rendered":"
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CONCORD, N.H. (AP) \u2014 State Rep. Robert \u201cRenny\u201d Cushing, who staged a massive sit-in against nuclear power in the 1970s and spent later decades standing up for social justice at the Statehouse, has died. He was 69.<\/p>\n

Cushing, D-Hampton, who had been fighting stage 4 prostate cancer, died Monday at his home, the House Democratic office announced. Even as his illness progressed, he was elected House Democratic leader in late 2020, and told his colleagues he would focus on finding common ground in the fight for the common good.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou should know the physical status of your leader. What that does is, it actually helps inform my approach to the work,\u201d he said as the 2021 session got under way in a windy parking lot due to the coronavirus pandemic. \u201cI will help work with everyone to create a New Hampshire where justice reigns and everyone is treated with respect.\u201d<\/p>\n

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First elected to the House in 1996, Cushing was serving his eighth non-consecutive term in Concord, where he was known for pushing progressive causes. He spent more than 20 years trying to repeal the state\u2019s death penalty law, finally achieving victory in 2019 when lawmakers overrode a veto by Republican Gov. Chris Sununu.<\/p>\n

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That fight was intensely personal. After Cushing\u2019s father was murdered in 1988, a long-time family friend told him he hoped his father\u2019s killer would \u201cfry.\u201d But Cushing\u2019s opposition to capital punishment only deepened after his loss.<\/p>\n

He founded Murder Victims\u2019 Families for Human Rights, and as its executive director, traveled the country speaking on behalf of victims against the death penalty.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we let those who kill turn us into killers, then evil triumphs and we all lose,\u201d he said on March 7, 2019, when his bill passed the House, three years to the day before his death. \u201cThat does nothing to bring back our loved ones. All it does is widen the circle of violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2001, he learned from a news article that his father\u2019s killer had tried to get his murder conviction overturned in federal court. Cushing successfully sued to force the state to keep crime victims and their families informed about homicide cases.<\/p>\n

\u201cVictims, already ravaged by the monster, should not be further damaged by the Attorney General\u2019s failure to illuminate its tracks,\u201d Judge Gillian Abramson wrote.<\/p>\n

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Sununu directed flags in Hampton to be flown at half-staff on Cushing’s day of internment. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle praised his dedication and offered condolences.<\/p>\n

“He chose to light a candle rather than curse the darkness. Now we must be brave and follow that flame,\u201d said Rep. Marjorie Smith, D-Durham, House Democratic policy leader.<\/p>\n

House Speaker Sherm Packard, R-Londonderry, said it had been an honor to serve alongside Cushing.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was highly respected amongst his peers in the House and throughout the state of New Hampshire,\u201d Packard said. \u201cHe was a passionate and dedicated public servant \u2014 never afraid to take on controversial issues for the sake of bettering this great state.\u201d<\/p>\n