NJ repeals Death Penalty

[RickM]

I am not happy to say the least.....and I detest Corzine.

If anything the rate of executions should have been accelerated.

"Death row disappears as Corzine signs bill
8 condemned men to live rest of natural lives in jail
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
BY DEBORAH HOWLETT
Star-Ledger Staff

Gov. Jon Corzine signed historic legislation abolishing the state's death penalty yesterday, clearing death row at New Jersey State Prison and providing an epitaph for what he called "state-endorsed killing" in the pursuit of justice.

"Today New Jersey is truly evolving," Corzine told about 200 people packed into his outer office in the Statehouse for the bill-signing ceremony. "Society must determine if its endorsement of violence begets violence and undermines the sanctity of life. ... I answer yes, and therefore I believe we must evolve to ending that endorsement."


The night before, Corzine said, he had signed an order commuting the sentences of all eight men on death row. The order provided "legal certainty" that the convicted murderers will never be paroled, Corzine said. "They will spend the rest of their lives in jail."

New Jersey became the first state to repeal its capital punishment law since the U.S. Supreme Court, which had struck down the death penalty in 1972, allowed its reinstatement in 1976.

The move was hailed by death penalty foes nationally and internationally. Sister Helen Prejean, a leading opponent of capital punishment and author of "Dead Man Walking," came to Trenton to witness the signing.

"There's no place on Earth I would rather be," Prejean said. "The word will travel around the globe that there is a state in the United States of America that was the first to show that life is stronger than death, love is greater than hatred and that compassion is stronger than the need for revenge."

Since an execution in Texas on Sept. 25, none have been carried out in the United States while the nation's highest court considers whether lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment.

New Jersey hasn't carried out an execution since lawmakers voted to reinstate the death penalty in 1982. The last execution in the state was in 1963.

The bill Corzine signed had been fast-tracked through the Democrat-controlled Legislature in its year-end "lame duck" session following November's elections. In the past two weeks, the measure was heard in committee and passed both houses following impassioned floor debates.

Corzine said the quick action simply ended a "protracted moral and practical debate" over capital punishment that has been going on for years. The issue was given a lengthy examination by a blue-ribbon panel appointed by the governor. The panel recommended earlier this year that the death penalty be abolished.

Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Union), who sponsored the bill, was among the legislators who voted 25 years ago to reinstate the death penalty. Lesniak said he was glad for the chance to "correct my mistake."

"It's not often we vote our consciences in the Legislature," Lesniak said. "We should do it more often."


While Democrats pushed the bill, it mustered a bare majority in the Senate, and only because four Republicans voted with them. Among those voting to repeal was Sen. Robert Martin (R-Morris), who will retire in three weeks.

Martin said he had despaired of ever being able to cast a vote against the death penalty.

"This was an epic battle. I frankly though it was Mission Impossible," he said. "There are certain things -- persistence, patience, good will and perhaps faith -- which will overcome many mountains. ... It's remarkable that this day has arrived. Hallelujah!"

Opponents of the measure saw no reason to rejoice.

"Sparing the lives of brutal murderers only a week before Christmas will leave a hole in the hearts of surviving family members that will never heal," Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Morris) said. "The governor's action is not a cause for celebration."

Among those who lobbied against the bill was Richard Kanka, whose 7-year-old daughter, Megan, was raped and murdered by Jesse Timmendequas, one of the eight death row inmates whose sentence was commuted. The case prompted the Legislature to enact the nation's first Megan's Law, which requires sex offenders to publicly register their addresses.

"Just another slap in the face to the victims," Kanka said of the bill.

Before signing the bill, Corzine said his opposition to capital punishment was deeply personal and long-held.

"My belief was moral in my heart and my soul; that's why I feel the way I do," Corzine said. "I believe a nonviolent sentence of life in prison without parole best captures our state's highest values and reflects our best effort to search for true justice rather than state-endorsed killing."

Thirty-six states still have the death penalty, and more than 3,300 inmates are on death row, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Since the death penalty was reinstated 31 years ago, 1,099 people have been executed. "

[Racerbvd]

They don't need a Death Row, but Death Bleachers!!! Broadcast it and maybe some will lean from it. Remember, there has never been a case of someone committing another crime, in or out of jail after getting the final punishment, that is a pretty good success rate.

[Rick Lee]

Too bad. Just amazing that we can't make laws retro-active, but can commute death sentences, which were handed down after due process, because political sentiment has changed. Now the vitcims' families can keep paying more taxes to keep their loved ones' murderers alive longer.

[304065]

In other news, the convicted murderers will be required to ride with Corzine on the NJ Turnpike.

[The Gaijin]

"The last execution in the state was in 1963." Political grandstanding.

Just this week the press found out about a cop killer being paroled in NY. This P.O.S. was saved from the chair when the death penalty was done away with last time in the 60s - and now the board is voting to let him out..

The only reason the death sentence came back in a big way in this country is the lack of a true life sentence and the unwillingness to enforce it over the long term.

[Mo_Gearhead]

QUOTE: "Society must determine if its endorsement of violence begets violence and undermines the sanctity of life. ... I answer yes, and therefore I believe we must evolve to ending that endorsement."
________________________

So, his logic is that ...because there is a Death Penalty, criminals are REALLY PI$$ED OFF at SOCIETY...and THAT is what makes them go out and murder, rape, molest children, ...etc.

What a Brilliant Man!

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I think I'll go on a killing spree in New Jersey tonight.

[Jeff Higgins]

Actually, if the last execution was in '63, it is clear the state was not doing its job anyway. I think it is a pretty fair guess that it was a non-deterent to any criminals living there as it was. I just see this as further acknowledgement that private citizens need to step up and assume responsibility for that which the state will not - their own protection. Maybe with that realization sinking in with a disenchanted populace, the real rate of "execution" in New Jersey will actually increase.

[Gogar]

Agreed I don't think killers think about what state they're in and whether or not they'll get the death penalty before they pull the trigger.

Unless they're in Texas.

+1 It was a totally meaningless grandstanding stunt.