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December 2, 2008 11:03:37 AM CST

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NJ Formally Outlaws Death Penalty

Posted Dec 17, 07 1:23 PM CST in US 

(Newser) – New Jersey officially abolished the death penalty today, becoming the first state to ban capital punishment in the 4 decades since the US Supreme Court allowed the practice to resume. "Today, New Jersey is truly evolving," Gov. Jon Corzine said as he signed the measure, which sped through the legislature amid contentious debate in the glare of national media attention, the Newark Star-Ledger reports.

"New Jersey is setting a precedent that I'm confident other states will follow," said a state legislator. The governor commuted the sentences of the eight men on death row yesterday, the AP reports. The issue is currently moot in the US, where executions are suspended while the Supreme Court considers whether lethal injection qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment.

Sources Star-Ledger, Associated Press

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New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine, center, signs a bill replacing the state%u2019s death penalty with life in prison without any possibility of parole, Monday, Dec. 17, 2007 at the State House in Trenton,...   (Associated Press)
The electric chair used for carrying out death penalties in New Jersey is seen at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, N.J., in this Jan. 17, 1972, file photo. New Jersey today became the first state...   (Associated Press)
New Jersey Assemblyman Christopher Bateman, R, 16th Legislative District, speaks at the state house in Trenton, N.J., Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007. He co-sponsored a measure to abolish the state's death penalty....   (Associated Press)
New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine talks to reporters outside the ABC studio in this file photo. (AP Photo/ABC, Lauren Victoria Burke)   (Associated Press)
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