HARTFORD-- Connecticut is poised to become the 17th state to abolish the death penalty after the Senate passed a bill early Thursday morning repealing capital punishment. The 20-16 vote came at 2:05 a.m., after more than 10 hours of debate. The measure now moves to the House of Representatives, where it has broad support. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has pledged to sign the bill once it reaches his desk. The fate of the repeal drive was sealed earlier this week, when several one-time supporters of capital punishment indicated they were switching their stance. Several of them spoke, often in bluntly personal terms, in the floor of the chamber. The bill would replace the death penalty with life in prison without the possibility of release. It stipulates that the 11 men currently on Connecticut's death row would still face execution; capital punishment would only be abolished for those convicted of capital offenses in the future.