Posted on 05/09/2007 11:29:02 AM PDT by DogByte6RER
New Jersey to consider abolishing death penalty
Tue May 8, 2007 2:43PM EDT
By Jon Hurdle
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - New Jersey lawmakers will consider abolishing the death penalty this week, starting a process that could see the liberal state become the first to scrap capital punishment since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated it in 1976.
On Thursday, the judiciary committee of the state Senate will consider two bills calling for New Jersey to replace execution with life imprisonment without parole. Capital punishment in the state is already suspended under a moratorium passed by legislators in late 2005.
Sen. Ray Lesniak, a Democrat and sponsor of one of the bills, said he was confident that a combined bill would be passed by the panel and, while its fate in the full Senate was less certain, it was likely that the legislation would become law some time this summer.
Lesniak, a former supporter of the death penalty, said he had changed his mind largely because of the risk of executing an innocent person.
"We have seen so many cases of innocent people being sent to death row, it's just not worth taking the chance," he said.
But Sen. Nicholas Asselta, a Republican who supports the death penalty, argued that DNA testing eliminated the possibility of people being executed in error, and that capital punishment was a valid deterrent for the worst crimes.
"How can you not impose the death penalty on people like Osama bin Laden?" Asselta said.
Asselta predicted the full Senate would vote to abolish the death penalty because it was controlled by Democrats who would be supported by some Republicans.
Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat, is opposed to the death penalty, and has said he will sign any such bill after it is approved by the legislature, both of whose houses are controlled by Democrats.
FEWER EXECUTIONS
Any decision by New Jersey to scrap its death penalty would likely encourage some other U.S. states to take a harder look at the issue at a time when both death sentences and executions are at their lowest levels in a decade, said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, a group that campaigns for its abolition.
The hearing follows a report from a New Jersey legislative panel in January this year that recommended abolishing the death penalty, partly on grounds that it does not deter the worst crimes and is a greater burden on taxpayers than life without parole.
The New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission also cited increasing evidence that the death penalty was "inconsistent with evolving standards of decency."
New Jersey currently has nine people on death row but has not executed anyone since 1963. Nationwide, 53 people were executed in 2006 in the 38 states that have the death penalty, down from 98 in 1999, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
On May 4, the state of Alabama executed death row inmate Aaron Lee Jones by lethal injection.
His was the 17th execution in the United States this year and the 1,074th since capital punishment was restored in the United States, according to the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.
Tough luck! They're facing federal charges of terrorism and conspiracy.
I think death would be preferable.
L
I think this is a good thing. I don’t trust our court system enough to give them the power to kill.
Ron White on the Texas law to move people guilty of multiple murders to the head of the line:
“Other states are trying to abolish the death penalty... mine’s putting in an express lane.”
Really, Lesniak?
Name all the innocent people who have been put on death row in NJ.
Give us the full list.
Here's what my research has come up with, so far:
(1)
(2)
(3)
The new maximum sentence will be a ride in the Governor’s limo.
Well now we know where all the terrorists will set up camp...In the great Liberal state of New Jersey. Piss on ya!
“Hmmmm...maybe the Fort Dix Jihad Six were factoring in their plot the soft on crime state of New Jersey. Tough luck! They’re facing federal charges of terrorism and conspiracy.”
1. If they’re up for Fed charges, then Fed penalties apply, which includes the death penalty.
2. I’ve lived in a state w/ the death penalty. And, I now live in the state that was the first to abolish the death penalty. Quite frankly, I can’t see much of a difference in crime levels. Therefore, I discard totally the idea that the death penalty lowers crime rates overall.
3. Ya know, it is possible to be conservative and against the death penalty. Call it my “sanctity of life” conviction.
4. Then, there is the idea that a prosecutor can in fact get it wrong — where would those Duke guys be if their parents didn’t spend over $1 million each in lawyers?
My thoughts exactly
“The New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission also cited increasing evidence that the death penalty was “inconsistent with evolving standards of decency.”
Oh yeah, evolving standards of decency.....apparently none of the bleeding hearts on this commission has had a family member murdered. Nor do they comprehend the future carnage that will be dispensed by terrorists...and NJ has home sweet home and a target of choice for quite some time.
Name all the innocent people who have been put on death row in NJ.
“Give us the full list. Here’s what my research has come up with, so far:”
Do your research dude.
(1) McKinley Cromedy
(2) Larry Peterson
(3) John Dixon
That’s just with DNA testing courtesy the Innocence Project.
As you probably wrote earlier, we saw in the Duke rape case what a bad prosecutor can do to an innocent person.....
I have.
For example, I know that Cromley, Peterson and Dixon were never placed on death row.
Try being an honest person next time you post.
The hug-a-thug death penalty abolishment activists have yet to show just one single executed inmate (since 1976) who was innocent.
DNA can now take the certainty of a killer’s guilt to astronomical numbers. The Duke LAX case only illustrates a local prosecutor’s bad conduct. The LAX players were never charged with a capital offense and the DNA (withheld by Nifong) proved their innocence. In the end, the checks and balances built within our justice system arrived at the truth about the Duke LAX players.
While I respect your pro-life sentiments, I also urge you to read these excellent commentaries by Dennis Prager on this subject. These essays may give you a new perspective.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47631
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53331
Will the Jihadists get Grandfathered in?
Very sound logic. I couldn't agree more.
ONLY the intense media scrutiny made the prosecution efforts untenable. Every day, in this country, people face similar prosecutors that are unconstrained by such media scrutiny.
I would counter, and I believe that many of the Founding Fathers also envisioned the free press as a check and balance against an uncontrollable government.
Dogbyte - You say that you value innocent human life. How are you sure that those on death row are not innocent? You really trust the courts? I agree that DNA testing is an improvement, but that requires it to actually be used, which it is not in many cases. Even if it is, it’s still not infallible. Bottom line, the death penalty leaves no room for error. You really trust the government not to make mistakes?
The death penalty is clearly allowed by our U.S. Constitution. The death penalty was in effect when our Founding Fathers formed and governed our government.
I also think the death penalty can protect innocent live by punishing guilty life. Also, there is at least one deterrent with the death penalty that is 100% certain...an executed serial killer will NEVER kill again.
I think that the distrust of government you refer to borders on anarchy. Distrust of government is only one facet of the conservative movement. Rule of law and personal responsibility are two other very important components that also fit into conservative ideology.
As a libertarian, you might disagree with me and that’s fine. In fact, I do have quite a libertarian streak in my political ideology as well.
However, if criminals are allowed to evade justice and go unimpeded in our society, our system of trust and order breaks down and only chaos rules.
For an example of a country with no penalty just look south to Mexico. Mexico has no death penalty and has no life sentences. Yet their country is one of the most violent and corrupt in the Western Hemisphere.
The death penalty should only be reserved for those killers who actions rise up to a level that is especially egregious and heinous. I would never advocate the death penalty for say drunk drivers who kill or spouses who kill in the heat of passion if he or she walks in on the other spouse engaged in adultery.
I would also refer you to the Dennis Prager columns that I linked above in post #14. Prager’s columns explain the moral clarity behind the death penalty and I share his sentiments.
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