ACLU Says New Jersey’s Historic Rejection of Death Penalty Reflects Shift in Public Opinion

[marmar]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 17, 2007
10:44 AM

CONTACT: ACLU
James Freedland, ACLU, [phone];
[email protected]


ACLU Says New Jersey’s Historic Rejection of Death Penalty Reflects Shift in Public Opinion

NEW YORK - December 17 --Today Governor Jon Corzine signed into law a bill that ends capital punishment in the state of New Jersey. The measure, which passed the state legislature last week with bipartisan majorities, replaces the death penalty with life imprisonment for the most serious offenders. New Jersey becomes the first state since 1965 to legislatively repeal the death penalty, generating forward momentum in the campaign to end capital punishment nationwide, said the American Civil Liberties Union.


The following can be attributed to John Holdridge, Director of the ACLU’s Capital Punishment Project:

“This is a historic moment reflecting the growing shift in public opinion against the death penalty in America. It has been over four decades since the last state abolished capital punishment through the legislative process and New Jersey’s governor and legislature are to be commended for setting a high standard for other states to follow.

“Today’s signing sends a powerful message to the rest of the nation and the world that the death penalty is not only a grossly improper use of government power, but also the ultimate denial of civil liberties. New Jersey’s public leaders are right – capital punishment is ineffective, discriminatory, arbitrary and costly. With the stroke of a pen, America’s stature worldwide and its ability to end human rights violations in other countries have greatly improved.”
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http://www.commondreams.org/news2007/1217-01.htm

[question everything]

1. Thank you, New Jersey (nt)

[truebrit71]

2. Hmmm, not sure Megan Kanka's killer deserved a reprieve though...

...

[dieselrevolver]

3. Proud to call...

the Garden State home! Corzine got my vote and he got this one right.

[smokey nj]

4. Me too!!

Welcome to DU!!!!

[dieselrevolver]

5. Thanks!

Your quote is equal parts heresy and hilariousness.

[smokey nj]

6. Thanks, it's from my favorite t-shirt .

[Silent3]

7. A good, positive step.

I'd love to see more of this -- not just moving away from the death penalty, but away from what I call "punishism" -- locking people up for non-violent crimes like drug use, ineffective but crowd-pleasing "TOUGH ON CRIME!" sentencing and other legislation, looking the other way at the de-facto cruel and unusual punishment of prison rape and abuse, where the most violent offenders are the ones who suffer the least of that kind of punishment, and the least violent the most.

I'm no "bleeding heart" about this stuff. I think there are a lot of nasty people who deserve death (and worse) for their crimes. But I don't want my government to be in the revenge business, I don't want it to be a formalized, uniformed version of an angry mob with pitchforks, and I don't want my government trying to be arbiter of poetic justice -- making a lot of irreversible errors on the way.

[flashl]

8. NJ Rocks!

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

9. Recommended. I sincerely hope that assertion is true. nt