New Jersey Abolishes Death Penalty

It was December tenth, 2007, when a smiling Governor Jon Corzine signed a law that would change the lives of eight men and many more. He signed a law abolishing the death penalty in New Jersey, which will directly change the lives of eight men currently on death row. Instead of the quick death that they might have received, they will now get life in prison with out parole.

One of these men is Jesse Timmendequas, a man who was an alleged sex offender, convicted twice of sex crimes against young children, who raped and killed Megan Kanka. Allegdly, he lured her in with a promise of a puppy being inside, after which he raped her, beat her, and strangled her with a belt. He’s the reason for Megan’s Law, which makes authorities notify neighbors if a convicted sex offender is moving in.

Corzine stated as he grinned, "It's a day of progress for the state of New Jersey 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.”

The abolishment of this penalty makes New Jersey one of the now fourteen states to abolish the death penalty. Despite the fact that New Jersey has not murdered a prisoner since 1963, the Governor still sees this as a big win for the Garden State. His claim is that society is not, in fact, forgiving criminals, but they are being “morally superior” by not killing said person. The governor also said that it was a “momentous day.”

This abolishment was approved by a forty-four to thirty-six vote by the state’s assembly.