I used to be a proponent of the death penalty, but that was back in the 1990s, when my brain was still recovering from college. These days, I believe that nobody should be put to death, not even Ann Coulter. So I'm thrilled that New Jersey is about to kill the death penalty.
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - New Jersey is preparing to scrap the death penalty next week, becoming the first U.S. state to legislatively abolish capital punishment since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated it in 1976. State legislators will vote on Monday and Thursday on bills that would end the death penalty and substitute life without parole for the most serious crimes. Lawmakers say the measure is likely to be approved. ...
New Jersey, with eight people on death row, has not executed anyone since 1963. [Link]
Those eight people must be feeling very relieved.
First inmate: "Hurray! We're getting life without parole!"
Second inmate: "Life without parole? I wish it was life without gruel."
Thirty-seven American states and the federal government have the death penalty but its use has fallen in recent years. The number of death sentences handed down fell by 60 percent from 1999 to 2006 while the number of executions dropped by 40 percent over the same period, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a Washington research group.
The United States executed 53 people in 2006, the lowest number for 10 years, and the total is expected to fall this year to 42, said Richard Dieter of the DPIC. [Link]
That's good to hear. A civilized country shouldn't be executing people. I mean, if we really want to punish people severely, why not just make them listen to John Tesh? On second thought, that might be too inhumane.
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