A victory. New Jersey bans death penalty.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

Bravo for New Jersey and civilization.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071217/ap_on_re_us/death_penalty_new_jersey_5;_ylt=An_hUkiokzOdEaIEqB8qKSsE1vAI

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.
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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.

[ronnykmarshall]

1. This should get interesting.

:popcorn:

[Tommy_Carcetti]

2. Do any other states have the guts to follow?

I'd like to believe there are some out there, but I don't know. The need for blood lust as a substitute for justice has been pushed pretty hard throughout history.

[melody]

5. California may as well. The state rarely executes anyone and when they do it's a monster n/t

[NewJeffCT]

11. I bet CT might try to do it within a few years

just a guess because Dems have supermajorities in both houses in the state.

[Nutmegger]

17. I hope so.

We have supermajorities .... time to use it!

[NewJeffCT]

20. they've yet to really try it

for anything that I can recall...

[JackBeck]

3. As much as people rag on New Jersey

I can proudly continue to point to my home state as growing more and more progressive. Corzine has also admitted that gay marriage is inevitable and will pursue legalizing it in the coming years.

Now if we could only do something about those high property taxes...

[magellan]

4. I applaud my home state for its wisdom

:applause:

[smokey nj]

6. This makes me proud to be a resident of the Garden State!

[marmar]

7. Kudos to New Jersey, and the other non-Death Penalty states.....

Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, N. Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, W. Virginia and Wisconsin, plus D.C. and Puerto Rico.

:applause:

[Blue_In_AK]

8. I love that Alaska doesn't have a death penalty

and never has.

[aikoaiko]

9. I think its too bad. It should be an option. (former Allendale resident)

[AX10]

10. New Jersey is on the right side here.

[UTUSN]

12. Is President CORZINE in our Dem future?!1 What're the pluses/minuses? n/t

[qb]

13. I'm proud of Minnesota, too

Bringing the death penalty back to Minnesota was one of Gov. Pawlenty's grand ideas to fire up his base but he had to dump it due to lack of support.

[Forkboy]

14. I was thrilled when I heard this. The DP is wrong on many levels.

YAY for NJ!!!!! :applause:

[flashl]

15. Thanks NJ!

[Iggo]

16. If killing is wrong then killing is wrong. (n/t)

.

[MrSlayer]

18. It's a victory for child rapists, murderers and other scumbags.

Instead of getting the just punishment they deserve they'll now get three hots and a cot at state expense for the rest of their worthless lives. Woo hoo.

[Bright Eyes]

24. Here are some countries who agree with you:

Here are some countries who agree with you:

Afghanistan
China (People's Republic)
Egypt
Iran
Iraq
Korea, North
Libya
Pakistan
Palestinian Authority
Saudi Arabia
Syria

We're a member of a very proud club.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

27. Lets not forget

Cuba
Jamaica
Japan

and others

[wuushew]

25. How emotional of you

Justice isn't about what someone "deserves" or what makes you feel better. Also it is cheaper to incarcerate someone for life than to comply with the conditions under which the Supreme Court allows executions.


I don't understand how killing someone provides us will better science on the pathology and behavior of people who commit heinous crimes either.


IMHO anyone who made a laundry list of pros and cons would see that cons outweigh the pros by a wide margin.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

31. I see a nit to pick

"Justice isn't about what someone "deserves" or what makes you feel better."


Umm Justice is completely about what one deserves "The upholding of what is just, especially fair treatment and due reward in accordance with honor, standards, or law.". Mercy is about not giving what is deserved.

"I don't understand how killing someone provides us will better science on the pathology and behavior of people who commit heinous crimes either."

Something about viewing criminals as potential research subjects feels very cold, but I cant put my finger on it

[wuushew]

34. Are you implying that such research would not be done ethically?

:shrug:

I don't understand how you are ranking the quest for knowledge as more distasteful than state sanctioned murder.

[MrSlayer]

Hi. Yes justice is about what the criminal deserves.

Else we wouldn't punish them at all. I wonder what your take would be if someone raped and then tortured your child to death. I'm guessing it wouldn't be to try to spare or redeem the bastard in question.

[MrSlayer]

37. dupe.

[Dawggie]

26. Wow. What an apropos name you have.

sigh.

[MrSlayer]

38. Pretty tasty isn't it?

Amazing how these things work.

[TahitiNut]

29. ... not to mention all those innocents convicted of such crimes.

Bloodthirsty much? Shit, executing an innocent person is just as much of a deterrent, right? What the hell.

:eyes:

[MrSlayer]

39. Oh yes. I can never quench my insatiable thirst for blood.

What a load of shit. There are herds of people who are without a doubt guilty of their crimes sitting on death row. They should be executed immediately after sentencing. I don't see why we should spare the life of an absolutely guilty person just because others may not be guilty. If there is any doubt let them sit in stir until it can be concluded one way or the other. It's not all that complicated.

[GoneOffShore]

32. It's not "just punishment" - It's revenge, pure and simple

[MrSlayer]

40. Yes. So?

Justice, the administering of deserved punishment or reward.

Revenge, to inflict punishment in return for (injury or insult).

Hmmm.

[ulysses]

45. simplistic. revenge is not justice.

Otherwise, we might as well go back to lynch mobs.

[Dukkha]

33. What does that say about Norway who has no life sentence?

that they're a haven for child rapists, murderers and other scumbags?

[MrSlayer]

41. That it works for them I suppose.

It also means that if you kill my kid, wife, mother, whatever. I can then in turn kill you and get no punishment for it and I wouldn't even have to wait for you to get out of jail. It works for me. Hell they let you go out in public, work, and enjoy yourself in many other ways while "in prison" over there.

[Ignis]

36. Vengeance is WHOSE again?

Luckily, we never, ever, ever convict the wrong guy in death penalty cases. Just imagine if we did that and put the wrong guy to death! Of course, since that never happens, there's nothing to worry about.

Right?

[MrSlayer]

42. Again, because some innocents get sent to death row does not mean everyone there is innocent.

A great deal of the people there are flat out, one hundred percent, DNA guilty. So if there is some question, you can use life in prison until it's sorted out one way or the other. The undeniably guilty can be executed instantly.

[Ignis]

44. Technology changes.

The methods used to convict someone as "100% guilty" in the 1960s/1970s are proving to be less than infallible today, resulting in the release of multiple lifers in the past few years. Several of these lifers ended up confessing--due to threats, pleas, beatings, who knows?

Given the above, how can you decide at any given point in time that someone is 100% guilty? If you convict an innocent person and put them in prison for life without the possibility of parole, you can always correct the mistake based upon future evidence/confessions. If you execute an innocent person, you can never correct that mistake.

What do you gain by executing anyone, other than a quick emotional fix?

[bunkerbuster1]

19. Bravo indeed.

May more states follow, the sooner the better.

[truebrit71]

21. Not sure that Megan Kanka's killer deserved to get a break though...

...unless sparing the life of a murdering rapist pedophile is considered a good thing around here...

[DemGa]

22. My home state: Good work ending this despicable and barbaric act...nt

[Occam Bandage]

23. Excellent. This is great news.

[TahitiNut]

28. Michigan has NEVER had the state death penalty

It's one of the facts about Michigan that I regard as very positive. There has, since Michigan became a state, never been a death penalty in state law.

:party:

[pinto]

30. Yes. Yes. and Yes.

[Postman]

35. Ambrose Harris deserves the death penalty.

I have an internal ideological conflict with this.

I know that as "liberals" we're supposed to be against the death penalty and I understand the logic of "if killing is wrong, then it's wrong when the state does it"...

Killing is called "murder" when a criminal does it as opposed to being called "punishment" or a "penalty" when the state does it. Yet I still battle with it.

I know that if a family member of mine were murdered, I would want to kill the culprit. Does that make me barbarian? A non-liberal?

[ulysses]

43. no, it makes you human.

I know that if a family member of mine were murdered, I would want to kill the culprit.

As would I in that circumstance. That doesn't justify the state killing the culprit for you or for me.

Good on New Jersey.

[Iggo]

46. I'm not supposed to be against it.

I just am.