N.J. Lawmakers Consider Abolishing Death Penalty
A bill to abolish the death penalty in New Jersey is on a fast track for a vote by the end of the year.
The bill is likely to pass in the assembly but faces a more uncertain future in the senate, the New York Times reports. Gov. Jon Corzine has pledged to sign the legislation if it passes.
Similar legislation has failed in other states, including Nebraska and New Mexico.
A state commission in New Jersey found that the death penalty wastes state resources and serves no legitimate punitive purpose. It is recommending that the death penalty be abolished and replaced with life in prison without parole.
In any event, all executions in the state are on hold since the Department of Corrections has opted not to rewrite lethal injection procedures that expired in September 2005.
