State Sen. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, did the right thing Wednesday in voting not to allow less than unanimous votes when juries are considering imposing the death penalty. Anger is no reason to jigger the justice system.

The bill was in reaction to the case of James Holmes who was convicted of killing 12 people and wounding 70 in the 2012 Aurora theater shooting. One holdout juror prevented the imposition of the death penalty. (Holmes will nonetheless die in prison.)

As first written, the bill would have required only nine votes instead of all 12 in the penalty phase. That was changed to 11 in the bill that died Wednesday. Unanimity would have still been required in deciding guilt.

There was no good reason to make that change.

Roberts made it clear that she supports the death penalty. She said, however, that she believes “we have to meet the highest procedural threshold before we impose the death sentence.”

That is a straightforward standard and the correct one. It is too bad that Roberts had to break ranks with her fellow Republicans on the Judiciary Committee she chairs. But it is rewarding to know she had the courage to do so.