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New Jersey bans death penalty
Topic Started: Dec 17 2007, 05:42 PM (130 Views)
24thcenstfan
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New Jersey bans death penalty

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TRENTON, N.J. - 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.

The bill, approved last week by the state's Assembly and Senate, replaces the death sentence with life in prison without parole.

"This is a day of progress for us and for the millions of people across our nation and around the globe who reject the death penalty as a moral or practical response to the grievous, even heinous, crime of murder," Corzine said.

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.

Among the eight 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.

New Jersey reinstated the death penalty in 1982 — six years after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to resume executions — but it hasn't executed anyone since 1963.

The state's move is being hailed across the world as a historic victory against capital punishment. Rome plans to shine golden light on the Colosseum in support. Once the arena for deadly gladiator combat and executions, the Colosseum is now a symbol of the fight against the death penalty.

"The rest of America, and for that matter the entire world, is watching what we are doing here today," said Assemblyman Wilfredo Caraballo, a Democrat. "New Jersey is setting a precedent that I'm confident other states will follow."

The bill passed the Legislature largely along party lines, with controlling Democrats supporting the abolition and minority Republicans opposed. Republicans had sought to retain the death penalty for those who murder law enforcement officials, rape and murder children, and terrorists, but Democrats rejected that.

"It's simply a specious argument to say that, somehow, after six millennia of recorded history, the punishment no longer fits the crime," said Assemblyman Joseph Malone, a Republican.

Members of victims' families fought against the law.

"I will never forget how I've been abused by a state and a governor that was supposed to protect the innocent and enforce the laws," said Marilyn Flax, whose husband Irving was abducted and murdered in 1989 by death row inmate John Martini Sr.

Richard Kanka, Megan's father, noted Corzine signed the bill exactly 15 years to day that death row inmate Ambrose Harris kidnapped, raped and murdered 22-year-old artist Kristin Huggins of Lower Makefield, Pa..

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

The last states to eliminate the death penalty were Iowa and West Virginia in 1965, according to the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

The nation has executed 1,099 people since the U.S. Supreme Court reauthorized the death penalty in 1976. In 1999, 98 people were executed, the most since 1976; last year 53 people were executed, the lowest since 1996.

Other states have considered abolishing the death penalty recently, but none has advanced as far as New Jersey.

The nation's last execution was Sept. 25 in Texas. Since then, executions have been delayed pending a U.S. Supreme Court decision on whether execution through lethal injection violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

I don't see this becoming a trend. There are some very pro-Capital Punishment states left in the Union. Texas for example.

Personally, I still support the death penalty in cases where extremely heinous crimes were committed. I continue to weigh the impact of this position though. I don't take the position lightly.
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ImpulseEngine
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I continue to wrestle with the whole capital punishment concept.

Philosophically, I am for it in cases of first degree murder and especially for the really ugly criminals - serial killers, etc. There are probably other types of crimes for which I might be in favor of it as well - violent rapes, for example (perhaps I should say the more violent rapes since rape is violent by definition). I am philosophically for it because 1) public safety - if they're dead, they can't kill again, 2) economics - I can't see supporting these criminals in jail for life when they should never go free, 3) "life sentences" are often not for life :rolleyes:, and 4) as a deterrent to other would-be murderers.

However, the problem that I have with capital punishment is that it's value assumes a perfect system. Innocent people have been erroneously convicted, but a death sentence can't be reversed. Related to that, I don't believe all prejudice and racism has been completely eliminated when it comes to who is arrested and convicted.

Some people would say that one innocent life sacrificed to eliminate many accurately convicted violent criminals is acceptable. I just don't agree. For that reason, I have always stood against capital punishment when it came right down to it.

So I suppose I applaud New Jersey, but I also have a lot of mixed feelings.
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24thcenstfan
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You bring up a good point about possible innocents being wrongly convicted.

However, no system will ever be perfect IMO. Based on that premise, I choose to support our current system that for the most part hands down non-capital punishment sentences and reserves the death penalty for extreme crimes. There are people who have committed certain crimes that deserve the harshest punishment our justice system can hand down.

Despite that, there are grey areas to this issue because of the weight of the issue (i.e. the taking of a life).

While this example is minor in comparison to human life, it speaks to the heart of why I don’t take the issue very lightly.

There was a stray cat that used to come around until a couple of months ago. He was very nice until another male cat came around. He would then become very territorial and want to fight him right away. It got to the point where after beating up this nice cat one too many times that I decided to catch him and take him to the animal control center the next time he came around. I called animal control, and was told that if the cat wasn’t claimed within a matter of days, that he would be put to death.

I couldn’t do it though. Knowing that I was going to send the cat to its death when he wasn’t ill or hurt, just made me sick to my heart and stomach. He came around once or twice after that, but then he disappeared all together. I was so glad he stopped coming around.

Taking someone's life is not an issue to be taken lightly. Even for the small fury ones.

JMO.
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ImpulseEngine
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That's a great story about the cat 24. I too would have great difficulty putting it to its death. Heck, I felt badly about running over a squirrel a couple of years ago when it ran out in front of my car and there was nothing I could do. And it was just a rodent! :lol:

I certainly have been tempted to support our current system for the reasons I stated above. And I do think there are many clear cases where there is no doubt about a person's guilt and in which I would support their being put to death. Unfortunately (at least for my peace of mind), laws can't be written to say "when there is no doubt" because "no doubt" really can't adequately be defined. So, in order to allow the doubtless cases, the door is also inevitably open for innocent people to possibly be sentenced to death.

You are correct that no system is perfect. I just can't get past this particular system's imperfections when it potentially involves someone's innocent life being taken away. Let me be clear that I'm not judging you or anyone else who supports our current system and I hear your own personal struggles with the whole matter loud and clear. I'm merely expressing my own feelings about it.

On the flip side, some people who have committed violent crimes have gotten out of prison in the past one way or another and have committed more violent crimes. That couldn't have happened if they had been sentenced to death. So there are obvious problems with holding out for the sake of the innocent too.
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