New Jersey Governor John Corzine signed into law a bill that abolishes the death penalty in the Garden State. He had these comments: "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."
New Jersey gets more attractive all the time. First civil unions, now this. I have been opposed to the death penalty since my 2-year stint as a criminal prosecutor in the late 80s. I didn't handle a capitol case, but assisted on some murder cases and came to the conclusion that if a person does not have the right to take a human life, then the state, which is, after all, merely the representation of the people, does not have the right. I also became aware that our criminal justice system is far from flawless and mistakes happen. When an innocent person is jailed, he can be released and compensated. When an innocent person is put to death, there's no turning back. That particular wrong cannot be made right.
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