The following are the remarks made by NJ Governor Jon S. Corzine after signing the bill which made New Jersey the first state in 42 years to ban the death penalty:
Good morning everyone.
Thank you all for being here. Today, December 17th 2007, is a momentous day – 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.
Today, through my signature on this bill, New Jersey abolishes the death penalty as a policy of our state.
For the people of New Jersey, I sign this legislation with pride.
I want to thank so many of those who join us today for their thoughtfulness and courage in making today a reality.
First let me cite the Death Penalty Study Commission, chaired by Reverend Bill Howard, pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Newark, a group that was made up of a diverse set of individuals representative of prosecutors, law-enforcement, victims, religious groups and others.
Let me just note, five of the Commissioners were directly impacted by the violence of murder in their families, directly.
The state legislature showed courageous leadership. I must say, incredible leadership not just by Senator Lesniak and Senator Martin, the sponsors or Assemblyman Caraballo, or Assemblyman Bateman, the leaders Roberts & Codey – but for all those that voted yes.
This is one of those conscience votes that individuals must actually weigh and balance their own sense of morality and I am very, very grateful to all of you. A number of you are here today who voted yes, Senator Gil, Senator Turner. I look forward to joining with all of you as I sign this bill.
It should be noted that because of the action of the legislature, this is the first state to legislatively end the death penalty since the U.S. Supreme Court reauthorized capital punishment in 1976.
I also want to thank advocacy groups, particularly New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, which have created a fundamental grass roots groundswell that put pressure on those of us in public service to stand up and do the right thing. The New Jersey Catholic Conference, the ACLU and there are many other groups that joined in this process and I am eternally grateful.
I also want to recognize that other good people will describe today’s actions in quite different terms – in terms of injustice – particularly for those who carry heavy hearts, broken hearts from their tragic losses.
While no one can imagine their pain, I will sign this law abolishing the death penalty because I and a bipartisan majority of our legislature – and I congratulate Senator Bateman and Senator Martin in particular for their leadership on this – believe a nonviolent sentence of life in prison without parole best captures our State’s highest values and reflects our best efforts to search for true justice, rather than state-endorsed killing.
As Reverend King implored all mankind while accepting his Nobel Peace Prize – “Man must evolve, for all human conflict, a method of resolution which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation.”
Today, New Jersey is truly evolving.
We evolve, if you believe as I do, that government cannot provide a foolproof death penalty that precludes the possibility of executing the innocent.
Society must ask – Is it not morally superior to imprison 100 people for life than it is to execute all 100 when it is probable we execute an innocent?
We evolve, if you believe as I do, that because New Jersey has not executed anyone in 44 years, there is little collective will or appetite for our community to enforce this law and therefore the law has little deterrence value.
That is, if you ever accepted there was a deterrent value.
We evolve, if you believe as I do, that the loved ones of victims may be more deeply hurt by long delays and endless appeals than they would be if there were certainty of life in prison with no possibility of parole.
Our debate has brought forth victims’ voices on both sides of this perspective.
We evolve, if you believe as I do, it is economic folly to expend more State resources on legal processes in an attempt to execute an inmate than keeping a criminal incarcerated for life.
It is estimated that it cost the State of New Jersey more than a quarter-billion dollars, above and beyond incarceration, to pursue the death penalty since it was reinstated in 1982 – a significant sum that could have effectively be used in supporting and compensating victims’ families.
Finally, we evolve, if you believe as I do, that it is difficult, if not impossible, to devise a humane technique of execution – one that is not cruel and unusual.
These are all thoughtful and logical arguments, and there are others, to abolish the death penalty – the Commission and the legislature gave weight to these arguments – but for me, the question is more fundamental.
I believe society must first determine if its endorsement of violence begets violence – and – if violence undermines our commitment to the sanctity of life.
To these questions, I answer “Yes,” and therefore I believe we must evolve to ending that endorsement.
Now, make no mistake: by this action, society is not forgiving these heinous crimes or acts that have caused immeasurable pain to the families and brought fear to society.
The perpetrators of these actions deserve absolutely no sympathy and the criminals deserve the strictest punishment that can be imposed without imposing death.
That punishment is life in prison without parole.
The only exception, of course, is the determination that a convicted felon is in fact innocent beyond the shadow of a doubt.
Let me repeat: this bill does not forgive or in any way condone the unfathomable acts carried out by the eight men now on New Jersey’s death row.
They will spend the rest of their lives in jail.
And to that end, last night, I signed an order commuting to life without parole the death sentences of the eight persons currently on death row.
This commutation action provides legal certainty that these individuals will never again walk free in our society.
These commutations, along with today’s bill signing, brings to a close in New Jersey the protracted moral and practical debate on the death penalty.
Our collective decision is one for which we can be proud.
Thank you.
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20 Responses
Society must ask – Is it not morally superior to imprison 100 people for life than it is to execute all 100 when it is probable we execute an innocent
That punishment is life in prison without parole.
Ya right! when was the last time someone died in jail, when sentence to life? They have the right to appeal their way out of jail the second they get there!
But then again, according to the Holy and Almighty ACLU, it’s not “moral” to kill a person who has killed others. Thank G-d, we have a Torah which tells us what is moral and what is nonsense.
A sad day for mankind.
The just punishment for murder is the death penalty. Its not a matter of “cost savings” or even crime prevention (although it does have that attribute if carrier out swiftly), but a matter of justice.
It should be applied when the case is 100% proven and it should be carried out swiftly following conviction.
hello all,
CHAZAL Say: ‘kol hamerachem al ha’achzarim sofo na’asse achzar al ha’rachmonim’
This is case and point. Killing innocent babies is a great thing – Abortion.
Eliminating killers and rabid beings is terrible.
I can only say is that maybe death penalty is not good because of mistakes, but be’ikkar it is a great and moral thing.
Although at times we wish the real criminals would get the death penalty, we know that the American death penalty doesn’t even compare to our system of Bais Din. However, I think we need that fear that the death penalty places on the criminals. It makes them think before commiting a crime.
This will R”L make it easier for criminals to commit crimes.
Many years ago, when New York State was considering the death penalty, I visited Horav Hagaon Moreinu Morshe Feinstein, ZT”L, and asked him what the authentic Torah viewpoint was on this issue.
He opened up a GeMara Sanhedrin and showed me the text which states (to the best of my memory): “BizMan DiNefeSha RotzChim, Makim VeonShimSheLo Min HaDin….”–When there are too many murderers, the king can execute them wholesale, even by using summary proceedings, and even including minors.
That is the right way to stem the tide of murder in society.
Corzine is totally wrong on this–“Liberalism is a mental disease!”
If there is no reasonable doubt at all(i.e. camera, DNA, eyewitnesses,etc) then excute him. Even if leathal excution costs more than life in prison, still a person who commits heinous crime has to be snuffed. There is no other way to go.
They may as well eliminate the death penalty. When was the last time the State of New Jersey used it? With all of the appeals processes in place, the whole deterrence factor is eliminated. Or, maybe that was part of the plan.
This will no doubt have a great demoralizing effect on the police too. Look what has been happening in New York City. NYPD are now fair game for every criminal!
ONE WHO DOES NOT APPRECIATE THE VALUE OF THE DEATH PENALTY CANNOT APPRECIATE THE VALUE OF LIFE.
“This is one of those conscience votes that individuals must actually weigh and balance their own sense of morality…”
I must say, Governor, your own sense of morality has failed you. You are wrong. Dead wrong. Your “bleeding heart liberal” mentality will do nothing to reduce murders in our midst.
Maybe this is all part of the population control movement–more murderers, less people!
regarding the question if it’s “fair” to execute these criminals: why are you pitying the murderer? did he feel bad when he killed his victim?
but my personal opinion is that there’s nothing worse than rotting in jail for life while the rest of the world is “having fun”. also, once he’s dead – he’s dead… doesn’t logic dictate that a long drawn out punishment hurts more than the prick of a needle that takes a second? (they probably have the option of numbing the area of the injection as well)
And to #5 who worries that ppl won’t be scared to do their bad deeds if there’s no death penalty, let me tell you a little secret. Not all low-life criminals love life so much that they wouldn’t mind committing their crimes – although they’re risking their lives. the thought of sitting in chains till death, locked up, can be more daunting to some than to be killed in an instant & ‘be over with it’.
The liberal agenda is at work.
Turn the person who commited the crime into a victim and who cares about the dead guy!!
gotta love it when you have all these immoral people (corzine and others on the left) and talk radio hosts on the right telling us what is moral – and…
we believe them!
absurd!
b/t/w – when the Torah mandates a death penalty, there are several conditions – warning the person prior, two eyewitnesses etc.
one more thing: who here, who advocates for the death penalty would want to sit on the jury of a capital case? by the way: Mordechai HaTzaddik – recused himself in the famous “the crown vs. vashti” case.
mdlevine, Mordechai recused himself not because he opposed capital punishment, but rather because he knew he would be blamed for whatever decision he came too.
Someone above quoted Reb Moshe ZT’L supporting capital punishment in a secular society based on a Gemara in Sanhedrin, and as I recall Rav Avigdor Miller ZT’L was a strong proponent of it as well.
Corzine is too liberal to be ashamed of himself. What a bleeding heart fool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Of course the moral issue is shtusim. But the other point he makes, i.e. the fact that mistakes are made and innocent people get executed, is a very good point. A real Beis Din has Siyata Deshmaya. A secular judge does not. I think it is the right thing to abolish the death penalty for this reason.
“snuffed.” (#7)
I like that word! Pity I don’t like Corzine’s. What a useless left wing idiot. HE’S lucky to be alive & so he’s returning the favor. What a world.
Joseph, many people quote Rav Moshe ZT’L. Is their proof that he said it? same with Rav Miller ZT’L.
re: Mordechai understood that he would be blamed – I agree. If I learned it correctly, once the Sanhedrin was no longer sitting, we (Yidden) don’t judge on capital cases.
To All who are bashing the liberals…
I am not liberal but i don’t bash them, because it is the liberal agenda that supports HUD, Section-8, Food Stamps, Medical assistance and so many more programs that support so many kollel families and other frum families.
So if you get conservatives in office, they will get rid of all those programs… then what will kollel families do?
great B.O. you don’t bash liberals, you save your bashing for kollel families