New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission recommends elimination of death penalty

New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission recommends elimination of death penalty

AP reports here that the special study commission set up to examine the New Jersey death penalty has recommended that the state abolish the death penalty and replace it with life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. WCBS-TV in New York has a bit more here. Gannett News here.

AP excerpt:
New Jersey should abolish its death penalty and replace it with life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, according to a special commission's report sent Tuesday to Gov. Jon S. Corzine and legislators.

The report, obtained by The Associated Press, found no compelling evidence that New Jersey's death penalty, which has not been used in more than four decades, serves any purpose. It also found the death penalty costs taxpayers more than paying for prisoners to serve life terms without parole.

"There is increasing evidence that the death penalty is inconsistent with evolving standards of decency," the report states.

(Report is not yet posted on the NJ Death Penalty Study Commission website here, but should appear shortly. New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty website is here.)

UPDATE: The report is now on the study commission website here (133-page pdf).