Death Penalty Moratorium Passes NJ Senate
On December 15, the NJ Senate passed the death penalty moratorium bill
by a 30-6 strong bipartisan voter. (See press release from New Jerseyans
for Alternatives to the Death Penalty below). Thank you to all who
made calls and sent letters on this issue.
S.709 must now go to the Assembly for concurrence because the previous
Assembly bill does not agree with the Senate one. Please
contact your Assembly members to support S.709, and consult the Senate
list below to thank for a positive vote or express disappointment for
a negative one. Time is of the essence.
For additional information, contact Michelle Bobrow, State Board and
Death Penalty Study Committee member
(973-762-1169; mlbobrow@earthlink.net)
NJADP Press Release:
December 15, 2005
New Jersey Senate passes bill to suspend executions Bipartisan vote
is part of growing state and national trend away from the death penalty.
Trenton -- The New Jersey State Senate today approved S-709, legislation
calling for an immediate moratorium on all executions in New Jersey
and creating a new study commission which will examine the flaws in
the State's current death penalty system. Should S-709 become law, New
Jersey would become the first State to legislatively impose a moratorium
on the death penalty.
"By its action today, the Senate has signaled its deep concern
with the State's current death penalty system and sent a clear message
that the death penalty just does not work," said Celeste Fitzgerald,
Director of New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, a statewide
organization that advocates replacing the death penalty with life without
parole.
"This vote underscores what a growing number of New Jerseyans
have come to realize; the death penalty risks executing the innocent,
is unfairly applied, fails victims' families and law enforcement, and
wastes millions of taxpayer dollars," said Fitzgerald.
As required by S-709, the new study commission shall be composed of
13 members and will submit its findings by November 15, 2006. It will
examine critical issues such as racial and geographic bias, cost and
whether alternatives exist that will both ensure public safety and address
the needs of victims' families.
New Jersey's action comes amidst a growing chorus of concern about
the death penalty across the country. Cases of have been re-opened in
Missouri and Texas because of evidence that those states may have executed
innocent men. A Virginia death sentence was commuted to life in prison
without parole after DNA evidence was destroyed in the case. And voices
including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the editorial board
of Alabama's largest newspaper, and the President of the Ethics and
Religious Liberties Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention have
recently expressed concerns about capital punishment.
New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (NJADP) is a statewide
grassroots organization with over 10,000 members that since 1999 has
campaigned for an end to the death penalty in New Jersey. It is the
core group of more than 200 New Jersey organizations, representing interests
such as labor, justice, education, business, human rights, and virtually
every religious denomination in the state.
For more information, see www.njadp.org
# # #
District 1: Senator Asselta - 856-691-3004 - NO
District 2: Senator Gormley - 609-646-3500 - YES
District 3: Senator Sweeney - 856-251-9801 - YES
District 4: Senator Madden - 856-227-5900 -YES
District 5 - Senator Bryant - 856-757-0552 -YES
District 6 - Senator Adler - 856-489-3442 -YES
District 7 - Senator Allen (sponsor) - 609-239-2800 -YES
District 8 - Senator Bark 856-234-8080 -Abstained
District 9 - Senator Connors - 609-693-6700 - NO
District 10 - Senator Ciesla (prime sponsor) - 732-840-9028 -YES
District 11 - Senator Palaia - 732-531-1303 - YES
District 12 - Senator Karcher- 732-462-8883 -YES
District 13 - Senator Kyrillos - 732-671-3206 -NO
District 14 - Senator Inverso - 609-586-1330 - YES
District 15 - Senator Turner (prime sponsor) - 609-530-3277 -YES
District 16 - Senator Kavanaugh - 908-526-4222 -YES
District 17 - Senator Smith - 732-752-0770 -YES
District 18 - Senator Buono - 732-819-8141 -YES
District 19 - Senator Vitale - 732-855-7441 -YES
District 20 - Senator Lesniak - 908-624-0880 -YES
District 21 - Senator Tom Kean - 908-232-3673 -NO
District 22 - Senator Scutari - 908-587-0404 -YES
District 23 - Senator Lance - 908-788-6900 -YES
District 24 - Senator Littell - 973-827-2900 -NO
District 25 - Senator Bucco - 973-627-9700 - Abstained
District 26 - Senator Martin - (sponsor) - 973-984-0922 - YES
District 27 - Governor Codey - 973-731-6770 - YES
District 28 - Senator Rice - 973-371-5665 - YES
District 29 - Senator James - 973-622-0007 - YES
District 30 - Senator Singer - 732-901-0702 - YES
District 31 - Senator Doria - 201-451-5100 - YES
District 32 - Senator Sacco - 201-295-0200 - YES
District 33 - Senator Kenny - 201-653-1466 - YES
District 34 - Senator Gill - 973-509-0388 - YES
District 35 - Senator Girgenti - 973-427-1229 - YES
District 36 - Senator Sarlo - 201-804-8118 - YES
District 37 - Senator Weinberg - (sponsor) - 201-928-0100 - YES
District 38 - Senator Coniglio - 201-576-9199 - Not Present
District 39 - Senator Cardinale - 201-567-2324 - NO
District 40 - Senator McNamara - 201-848-9600 - Not Present
Celeste Fitzgerald
Director, New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
973-635-6396 Chatham Office
609-278-6719 Trenton Office
www.njadp.org
