The New Jersey abolishes the death penalty
Thursday ,The New Jersey became the first American state to abolish the death penalty since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976.
The Assembly of New Jersey, with a majority of Democrats, voted by 44 votes to 36 for alternatives to the death penalty to life imprisonment without possibility of speaking.
New Jersey, which has not carried out any executions since 1963, becomes the 14th state where the death penalty was abolished.
For the entire United States, there were 53 executions in 2006, the lowest for ten years and is expected to be lower this year.
According to the Information Center about the death penalty, the number of death sentences has fallen by 60% between 1999 and 2006.
The case of sentenced to death finally cleared by DNA analysis have increased fears of mistakes of justice and doubts remain about the deterrent effect of capital punishment.
According to a poll released Tuesday, 78% of voters in New Jersey were in favor of retaining the death penalty for serial killers or murderers of children, but for other murderers, 52% looked for life imprisonment without possibility parole.
Reuters
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