New Jersey officially kills the state’s death penalty
As detailed in this AP story, New Jersey’s “Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed into law Monday a measure that abolishes the death penalty, making New Jersey the first state in more than four decades to reject capital punishment.” As the article explains, the “measure spares eight men on the state’s death row. On Sunday, Corzine signed orders commuting the sentences of those eight to life in prison without parole.”
Notably, among those spared is “Jesse Timmendequas, a sex offender who murdered 7-year-old Megan Kanka in 1994. The case inspired Megan’s Law, which requires law enforcement agencies to notify the public about convicted sex offenders living in their communities.” The AP article also states that the state’s action “is being hailed across the world as a historic victory against capital punishment. Rome plans to shine golden light on the Colosseum in support.”
This CNN coverage includes quotes from Governor Corzine, which includes this comment: “Society must ask … is it not morally superior to imprison 100 people for life than it is to execute all 100 when it’s probable we execute an innocent?” In answering this question, it is probably appropriate also to wonder whether we are more likely to discover the one wrongfully convicted person when he is on death row with a few others or when he is serving life in prison with hundreds of others. Moreover, as I have stressed in prior posts, I am troubled that in eliminating the death penalty, New Jersey has expanded its use of the penalty of life without the possibility of parole.
Some related posts:
UPDATE: How Appealing here collects other major media coverage of New Jersey’s move away from the death penalty.