Posted on 12/18/2007 10:27:35 AM PST by NormsRevenge
TRENTON, N.J. - The New Jersey Public Defender's Office said Tuesday it won't challenge Gov. Jon S. Corzine's decision to commute the death sentences of eight men now that the state's death penalty has been abolished.
The office had questioned whether Corzine had authority to do that because the penalty of life imprisonment without chance of parole didn't exist when the men committed their crimes. But spokesman Tom Rosenthal said legal research has shown that the governor does have the authority.
Corzine commuted the sentences Monday as he signed a law making New Jersey the first to abolish the death penalty in more than 40 years. Relatives of those killed by the eight had worried that if the commutations were overturned, it could open the door to at least some eventually getting released on parole.
Rosenthal said federal case law related to the 2003 decision by then-Illinois Gov. George Ryan to commute death sentences of all 167 inmates on that state's death row to life in prison indicated governors have authority to do so and Corzine's move would be upheld.
"We wouldn't prevail, so we won't be pursuing that," said Rosenthal, whose office represents the eight men. He said that means the men who sat on death row will spend the rest of their lives in prison.
Even without a court challenge, the action could still have political effects.
Marilyn Flax, whose husband was abducted and murdered in 1989, vowed to work against Corzine and the lawmakers who voted last week to abolish the death penalty.
"I will make sure my voice is used and they are not re-elected," she said.
John Martini Sr., the man who killed Flax's husband, is among the eight men whose sentences were commuted.
Another of the eight is Jesse Timmendequas, the 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.
Megan's father, Richard Kanka, is still hopeful the men won't see old age. "The only thing we can really hope for is somebody in jail will knock off these guys," he said.
The New Jersey Constitution gives the governor authority to "grant pardons and reprieves in all cases other than impeachment and treason."
New Jersey reinstated the death penalty in 1982 — six years after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to resume executions — but hasn't executed anyone since 1963.
Corzine said he was moved by passionate views on both sides, but believes eliminating capital punishment "best captures our state's highest values and reflects our best efforts to search for true justice."
A recent Quinnipiac University poll showed New Jersey voters supported keeping the death penalty by 53 percent to 39 percent. The telephone poll of 1,085 voters was conducted from Dec. 5-9 and had a sampling error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The bill passed the legislature largely along party lines, with controlling Democrats supporting the abolition and Republicans opposed. Republicans unsuccessfully sought to retain the death penalty for those who murder law enforcement officials, terrorists and those who rape and murder children.
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 by lethal injection violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
N.J. Gov. Jon S. Corzine glances down at a bill he just signed which replaces the state's death penalty with life in prison without any possibility of parole Monday, Dec. 17, 2007 at the State House in Trenton, N.J. The bipartisan bill was passed in the state senate and assembly last week. (AP Photo/MJ Schear)
A recent Quinnipiac University poll showed New Jersey voters supported keeping the death penalty by 53 percent to 39 percent. The telephone poll of 1,085 voters was conducted from Dec. 5-9 and had a sampling error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
What an idiot.
Richard Kanka also asked if Gov Corzine was going to have a group hug with all the death row inmates.
Is a penalty you don’t have the guts to carry out really that much better than not having it at all? Studies would say no.
Victims don’t vote. Felons and their Advocates do.
No one cares about the victims, we’re talking about the rights of the accused.
Murderers and the like need their rights protected.
B.S.
If NJ doesn’t want a death penalty, that is their right. However, if Texas wants to execute the condemned by hanging, that should be there right as well.
My point is that it is not in the authority of the federal government to order States to execute certain types of criminals, nor should it be in their authority to nit pick, within reason, about how States who want capital punishment should carry it out.
Methods of execution should be as pain-free as possible, by this I mean “not torturous”, but they should also be certain and quick. However, “aesthetically pleasing to observers”, while given a small consideration, should not be critical in determining means.
For this reason, electrocution is the best known means of execution. Electricity is faster than nervous impulses, and burns out the ability of the brain to feel pain *faster* than it *can* feel pain. In addition, it also stops the heart, so painless death is doubly assured.
Lethal injection, while aesthetically pleasing, cannot guarantee success as fast. Nor can cyanide gas, which can cause a torturous and painful death if you breathe normally instead of hold your breath and inhale it all at once. Bullet execution, like in Utah, can be problematic.
Hanging takes considerable skill, and is easy to mess up. And the guillotine is gross, if efficient.
So electrocution is best.
evidently, a majority of the voters who vote in NJ approve of some criminals sponging off them for the rest of (all) their lives.
They like the criminals having cable tv, access to libraries, health centers and 3 squares a day.
...if I was a killer, I would take up residence in NJ just in case I got caught.
I don't know if one can do cartwheels in a death row cell,
but at this point, a hug'll do, I reckun.
Victims’ families are upset? Victims? What are those?
Maybe the voters but not public opinion. The political elite have decided to go against public opinion, which favors retaining the death penalty and abolish it. The question is will the public hold their politicians accountable. If not, they deserve what they get.
Isn’t life without chance of parole cruel and unusual punishment?
This is NJ & in my state I am embarrassed to say anything can happen. So do I trust life w/o a chance of parole real? No I don't! I can see killers getting out for some reason or another. I don't trust the politicians here at all. There was no reason to change this law as we weren't using it. We should have left it in place. Then if we wanted to use we could have. Most people I talked to don't understand why Corslime had to change it.
A POX on your house Corzine - you leftist gasbag.
WTF?
>When we start executing rich white people, I may reconsider ...
Like, OJ, you mean.
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